Councillor’s spray after graffiti prank

By Sarah Schwager
CASEY councillor Steve Beardon has found himself in Fitzroy, of all things, spray painted on a wall.
Cr Beardon, who founded Residents Against Graffiti Everywhere (RAGE), has for many years led a campaign for zero tolerance on graffiti.
This week he found his name tagged twice on a wall in large block letters in the inner city suburb.
“They’ve been doing this for the last 12 months,” he said.
“There were also stencils of my face.”
The tags caused banter at the council meeting on Tuesday night.
A white T-shirt spray painted with the words ‘Steve Headline Hunter’ was draped over the back of Cr Beardon’s chair in the chamber.
A can of blue spray paint was lying nearby.
Councillors joked about who had spray painted the walls while mayor Colin Butler demanded the T-shirt be removed.
One councillor commented that the tags be compared with Cr Beardon’s handwriting.
Cr Beardon focused on the tags, saying it was time the rest of the state, particularly the City of Melbourne, followed Casey Council’s tough stance on graffiti. “I don’t appreciate this at all,” he said.
“This is supposed to be the sporting capital, not the graffiti capital.”
He said the graffiti targeting him started last year when he was quite outspoken about a stencilling exhibition.
“Stencilling is just an extension of vandalism,” Cr Beardon said. “It’s an act of defiance.”