Career
Gear was elected for the Australian Labor Party as the member for the seat of Tangney at the 1983 election for the Australian House of Representatives,defeating incumbent Liberal Peter Shack. However,after a redistribution erased his majority and made Tangney a notional Liberal seat,Gear shifted to the nearby seat of Canning for the 1984 election and won. He had to fend off spirited challenges from Liberal opponent Ricky Johnston in the next four elections,particularly when his seat started shifting southward toward Mandurah. At the 1996 federal election,Johnston was successful at her fifth attempt,making him one of eight ministers to be defeated in the 1996 election.
Local government
In July 2019,Gear released a media statement [7] declaring his intention to contest the role of Mayor in the City of Melville for the 2019 local government elections. The position had been occupied since 2007 by Russell Aubrey,whose third term as Mayor had been marred with public controversy and internal division. [8] A long-time Melville resident,Gear ran his campaign on a platform of rebuilding confidence in the council,restoring integrity to City processes and decision-making,mending relations with ratepayers and residents and giving ratepayers better value for money.
Following the conclusion of polling conducted by the Western Australian Electoral Commission on 19 October 2019,Gear was elected as mayor,capturing 42 per cent of the votes,ahead of rivals Russell Aubrey (29 per cent) and Katy Mair (29 per cent). [9]
Gear's term as mayor ended in October 2023,when he lost the election to Katy Mair. [1] Gear received the highest number of primary votes (18%,vs Mair's 17%) [10] but lost on preferences. [11] This was the first time that optional preferential voting had been used in local government elections; [1] previous elections (since 2009) had used first-past-the-post voting. [12]
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