'A failure of his duties': Moyne councillors hit back at Jim Doukas

Cr Doukas said "neither of them qualif(ied)" as the best person for the job because they had made code of conduct allegations against him.

Crs Jordan Lockett and Damian Gleeson had previously declined to comment on the saga, saying it "wasn't appropriate to comment on internal processes", but they felt compelled to respond to Cr Doukas' remarks in Friday's Standard.

They issued a statement to this masthead.

"We are disappointed that Cr Doukas failed to participate in the important task of electing a Mayor at Tuesday's council meeting and we see this as a failure of his duties as a councillor. It's clear that Cr Doukas did not suffer from technical difficulties (as claimed) but rather chose to leave the meeting when the mayoral vote was about to take place," the statement read.

"We also reject Cr Doukas's claim that he has been treated unfairly through a code of conduct process by us, nor has he suffered any loss as a result."

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In the statement, Crs Gleeson and Lockett revealed the allegation at the heart of last week's failed election, when Cr Doukas' refusal to participate left the vote tied at three apiece.

"In our view Cr Doukas breached the Code of Conduct in his verbal exchange with a female staff member at an open council meeting which resulted in a formal complaint to the CEO from the staff member concerned.

"The Councillor Code of Conduct is very clear in how councillors should work with and treat staff. Staff should be treated with due respect and courtesy. In this instance a number of councillors and council staff believed Cr Doukas breached the Code. As a result it was appropriate to commence a process to determine the matter."

Both candidates said they were frustrated the internal turmoil had derailed the election, leaving Moyne mayorless, as well as detracting from the good work the council had been doing.

"It is a shame that this matter, which has been handled within council's internal processes up until now and remained private, has been made public in this way. Our main concern is the risk of causing further distress to the staff member involved."

While it is not addressed in the statement, The Standard understands the allegations have been dropped. Crs Gleeson and Lockett said they thought this should end the dispute.

The councillors urged Cr Doukas to move on and "get back to the important work council is doing for the community".

They said they were confident a new mayor would be elected at Tuesday's special meeting of council and the winner would get their "full support".

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