Cr Cooper calls it a day after a decade’s service

A seasoned Kwinana councillor who has dedicated 10 years of her life to the City has announced she will be retiring in four months.

Wendy Cooper announced her plans at the latest Kwinana council meeting, saying her last day would be October 17, a day after the local government elections.

Mrs Cooper said she was proud of the things she and the other councillors had achieved across the past 10 years, particularly the green initiatives the City had implemented.

“I am very keen that we have a tree-retention policy and that trees are now being valued much more in Kwinana, by residents, developers and council staff,” she said.

“I have always enjoyed working with young people as well, seeing how they have changed Kwinana and how hard they work to build this community.”

Mrs Cooper said the most challenging part about being a councillor had been meeting community expectations across all different interests and concerns.

She said she loved all aspects of the job and had taken a long time to decide she was going to retire, but that this year had been the right time.

“My husband has been patiently waiting for me to decide,” Mr Cooper said.

“I decided this is the right time, we just bought a new caravan and the intention is to take off around Australia for as long as we feel is appropriate.

“Age is against us and if we don’t go soon we may never, that’s been an important factor in my decision. I am staying till the election day on October 16, so instead of four people being elected there will be five.

“I have loved my time on council and learnt a lot and met amazing people. Hopefully I have helped the community and helped build a place they like to live. It’s going to be very interesting to see how things continue to change for the better.”

On top of being a councillor, Mrs Cooper is also active across the community as a volunteer with Chorus and a member of the Kwinana Rotary Club.