Cr Bolam, lessons from a decade in Council

Published on 18 May 2023

Kris Bolam was recently recognised for his 10 years of service to Frankston City as a Councillor, including two terms as Mayor in 2010–2011 and 2020–2021. His genuine  love for the City stems from early childhood and grew following his parents’ divorce in the 1990s.

“I was aged 9 when I went to live with my grandparents in Frankston, and I’ve always felt a sense of indebtedness to this City because it filled a void that was missing at the time,” he said, remembering playing at Ballam Park, doing competitive swimming at the Pines Pool, and taking advantage of the open space.

“My grandparents gave up their retirement years to raise a second set of kids and I felt almost guilty about this and wanted to make them proud,” he said.

“My nan died when I was Mayor the second time around and I remember that she was very proud when she passed away, so mission accomplished in that sense.”

Fascination with Council

Cr Bolam’s passion for good governance is rooted in his teenage years when his grandfather would take him to Council meetings. “When he couldn’t take me, I would walk from Karingal, where we lived, and watch by myself,” he said, admitting he was the only 15-year-old in the Gallery.

Despite his fascination with Local Government, there were disappointing moments “because the many of the big decisions would be behind closed doors.”

As time went on, the young man’s discontent grew, especially after recordings were stopped altogether and question time was scrapped.

“Enough!” he thought of the “secrecy”, and that is how, at the age of 22, Cr Bolam was voted in as a Councillor in 2008 to rescind these decisions. Wide-eyed and daisy fresh, he entered Chambers, stating he was the first Councillor under the age of 30 at the time. Along with his ideals and aspirations, he brought with him a checklist. “You’ve got to have a list of priorities of what you want to achieve. And from there, you’ve got to be able to compromise,” he said, adding that people “go wrong when they only seek absolutes”.

“The goals you have can be achieved, but the form in which they take may not be completely what you envisioned. There might be tweaks here and there. Ultimately you must be prepared to listen, adapt to what you hear and then negotiate.”

For Cr Bolam, the vision was to introduce “transparency and accountability reform”.

“Serious times require serious governance, and I have little tolerance for deceptive messaging, be it misinformation or disinformation,” he said, pointing to the importance of checking facts, looking at figures.

A breakthrough came with the introduction of the Transparency Hub giving the public access to Council data, including detailed financial records, asset management stats from the City’s capital Works program and procurement figures.

“I had the vision, but the Council staff had the know-how and have done such an incredible job in bringing that portal to life,” he said, adding that he gained a new appreciation for staff after working as in the Australian Public Service (APS) as a policy writer for two years.

Advice for novice Councillors

Cr Bolam said he was “tapped out” following his first term (2008-2012) and needed the break from 2012 through to 2016. “I went from having high-level strategic interactions as Mayor, where I was shaking the hands of a governor-general, to trying to bring someone back to life from a drug overdose as a Protective Services Officer (PSO) with the Victoria Police.

These are very different experiences, very different perspectives but they mould you as a person,” he said.

“During this time away from politics, I got back the fire in the belly.” His advice to future councillors would be to “pace yourself” and not have a “scatter gun approach” – have a handful of realistic priorities you want to achieve. Keeping his eye on the goal has helped during obstacles.

“Adversity forced me to work even harder in previous councils where there was very little cooperation and I had to double down on what I believed in,” he said.

Adversities have been plentiful during his 10 years in governance. As Mayor during the Global Financial Crisis and again during COVID-19, Cr Bolam jokes that “he is a Mayor for all seasons”.

He gets through tough times with “stubbornness” which he claims to have inherited from his grandmother.

“Stubbornness is denoted as a negative trait, but a sense of stubbornness and ownership in the political world can help you remain focussed,” he said.

He says that his time may be coming to an end. He calls it his “swan song” as he said he has ticked off much of what he wanted to achieve. “You come in, you achieve, you move on and you let someone else come in and take it further,” he said. “That’s the hope.”

Councillor Bolam received an award for his 10 years of service from 2008-2012 and from 2016 to the present

Fun facts about Cr Kris Bolam

• Hobbies: Reading, hiking
• Favourite book: Jean Craighead George’s “My Side of the Mountain”
• Favourite documentary: True Crime
• Favourite place to go hiking: The Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve
• Favourite place in Frankston: Ballam Park
• Favourite AFL Team: Richmond Tigers
• Pet: Murphy the Labradoodle
• Favourite food: Pizza!
• Education achievements: Bachelor of Arts (majors in Politics and Policy Studies; and International Relations), Bachelor of International Studies (major in Middle Eastern Studies), Graduate Diploma of Management, Master of Business Administration