By Alison Noonan
A CASEY Council election candidate claims he was doublecrossed by another candidate.
Mayfield Ward candidate Keith Cope said he was “tricked” into giving his second preference to fellow candidate Karen Sloane.
The Labor Party member said he was approached by the ALP to run with Ms Sloane on the premise that they would exchange preferences and run for the Cranbourne seat together.
However Mr Cope said Ms Sloane broke the deal by secretly changing her second preference in favour of another candidate after he had registered his votes with the Victorian Electoral Commission.
“I was ropeable when I found out,” he said.
“She took me in completely. She came around to my house with her little son and we made a deal to be running mates. I thought that hopefully we’d both get up.
“It was obviously just a scam to get my preference.”
Mr Cope said he was appalled that a local government candidate would even think of planning a double cross, describing Ms Sloane’s actions as “dishonest and unethical”.
“The whole thing was obviously preorchestrated and very cleverly planned,” he said.
“She even withdrew her Labor Party nomination that night so she clearly had no intention of becoming a member.”
Ms Sloane defended her actions, saying the decisions she made in the lead up to lodging her nomination had been carefully considered “with the best of Mayfield Ward and the City of Casey as the foundation”.
“In the process of making my decision to stand as a candidate in the City of Casey Council election I sought advice and consulted with numerous people and considered the information and various perspectives put to me,” she said.
“I sincerely and honestly stand as an independent candidate for Casey Council.
“As a person who lives in Cranbourne and works in Cranbourne I have every right to stand in Mayfield Ward and to represent the community where I volunteer, work, do my grocery shopping and where my son will be educated and raised. I stand as a candidate with a conscientious, carefully considered and communityminded approach.”
