FREO MAYOR ENJOYS 100-DAY ‘CHILL’

By Carmelo Amalfi
FREO’S new mayor Ben Lawver looks at home tucked into a pub booth, tapping on his phone and just chilling out with a pint before the Australia Day heatwave.
His first 100 days since elected in October last year have featured regular social media posts focused mostly on local grassroots activities, weeding and watering Samson Park, planting out Fremantle Malls and prepping meals at Buffalo Club.
His longest days are spent meeting staff and elected members for the first time since the elections and attending public events.
Today, StreetWise called in and asked the mayor what the next few years entailed. Homelessness. Housing. Tree canopies.
Traffic bridge issues featured front and centre as days ticked towards closure today. Optimistic the community will see something done, Cr Lawver said council had raised concerns over the impact of the impending year of chaos, “but they do what they want to do”.
He welcomed the State Government announcement to allow bicycles on trains between Fremantle and North Fremantle, “as long as there is room”, even during peak times.
“Our community, and council, were hoping for more to be announced and implemented ahead of the bridge closure, but the bikes/trains announcement shows me they’re listening. We’ll be actively monitoring the impacts the bridge closure has on our community and will continue to advocate for solutions.”
He also plans to address homelessness in the city and wants council, “to move beyond sympathy and lead with action, opening a rest centre”. Part of his campaign to be mayor, ‘tiny house villages’ could be opened across the city to reduce the number of people sleeping rough.
But it was complicated given the range of issues involved, he told StreetWise.
More complicated the state of the City’s finances which will come under close scrutiny at the annual electors meeting tomorrow. Electors for the past four years have rejected the City’s annual financial report.
Cr Lawver moved to Fremantle after a holiday in 2013. From the Rocky Mountains in Washington State, he now lives in Hilton with his wife, dog and three chickenStreetWiseCarmelo2019s.
In 2017, he was hired to do research for a Westport taskforce committee and until 2019 worked at the Maritime Union of Australia. He said the City had a position to keep a working port in Fremantle, “and my experiences before being elected mayor will help me be a more effective advocate for our position”.
In 2021, he also was hired to do research for Labor Senator Glenn Sterle.
Cr Lawver was elected to council in 2021.
His election last year was an upset win over Hannah Fitzhardinge, whose loss was brought on partly after she used her mayoral social media page to describe as racist Fremantle Society president John Dowson who sued for defamation.
Even Lawver and fellow councillors, not to mention Mr Dowson, were surprised by the offensive post at the time.
“Have you seen Hannah?” StreetWise asked before gifting the mayor a copy of the 10th anniversary edition of Freo StreetWise.
“No, but she’s on Linkedin.” Ms Fitzhardinge’s last post on her ratepayer-funded mayoral page (which is still up) was October 19, the day after the election.