Randwick City Councillor, Alexandra Luxford, was first elected to Council in 2017 and has been serving the constituents of West Ward ever since. This year, during the local government elections on December 4, she hopes to be re-elected to continue her fight against overdevelopment and to advocate for a multicultural Glendi in Kingsford.
To find out more about her plans, The Greek Herald sat down with Cr Luxford and discussed her political career and future aspirations.
1. How did you get into politics?
I have always been politically active from a young age. I have been a member of the Labor party for 29 years and I come from a family that was always involved with politics. My father John Procopiadis was a councillor on Randwick Council for 18 years and was also the Mayor during his time. It was only natural when given the chance to represent the Labor party as the West Ward candidate in 2017 that I took up the offer. This was a good fit for me as I have always been a person to champion causes for the betterment of our community.
2. How does your Greek heritage influence your work?
My Greek heritage has given me a sense of diversity. It helps me to relate to people of different backgrounds and cultures, especially the Greek community.
I am proud of my Greek heritage and this year, I felt it was important for our city to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greek independence. I put forward a motion in council which saw Greek flags and banners flying throughout Randwick City. This was a wonderful achievement for myself and the Greek community as we were able to recognise the benefits the Greek community made to help our city flourish through their cultural and commercial activities.
In my first year on council as Deputy Mayor in 2018, I was able to address the Greek community at the Epiphany ceremony, welcoming fellow Greeks to our city in their mother tongue. I will always support the Greek community in whichever way I can.
3. What have you achieved so far as a Councillor?
During my four years on council, I have delivered upgrades to local parks such as Kokoda Park in Kensington and been instrumental in ensuring future upgrades to playgrounds at Fitzpatrick Park in Kensington and Snape Park in Maroubra.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I supported local sporting groups in the area by voting to waive ground hire fees so that kids still had sports to enjoy in what was a tough time on the community.
I have a 100% voting record against overdevelopment across Randwick City, opposing the gross high-rise complexes which don’t benefit the community in any way.
I have led the charge at Randwick City Council to save our local bus services from the Liberal government’s cuts and privatisation. At council, I have been supported by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union who came to speak to my motions.
I pushed for an up-to-date traffic study to be done to help us better understand the traffic in the area and what we can do to alleviate a lot of problems for our local community.
4. What are your plans if you are re-elected this year?
I will continue to fight overdevelopment by opposing high-rise plans that will increase congestion and put additional pressures on local schools and hospitals and support the local community and local businesses in any way I can.
I will make sure to preserve our green spaces by maintaining our beautiful parks and improving sporting facilities, as well as continuing to keep up the fight against the Liberals’ cuts to local bus services in Randwick City.
I will also continue to work on a multicultural Glendi to be held in Kingsford, following in the footsteps of my father John Procopiadis who organised the Springtime Greek Glendi, which was held several times at Kensington Oval. It helped to bring Greek culture to the forefront of Randwick City with Greek music and Greek dancing. I would love to see this happen again, incorporating the diversity of our community.
5. What message do you have for our readers and the Greek Australian community more broadly?
The support of the Greek community is something I value and treasure. We are a strong and proud voice in the community. Supporting Greek-Australian candidates ensures our voice will always remain powerful and our language, culture and heritage continues to thrive.
6. Is there anything else you’d like to say?
I am passionate about the area I live in, having lived in Kensington for over 50 years. I understand the issues facing the community and I am devoted to continuing to deal with the issues and achieve positive outcomes. I will listen, take on people’s concerns and be their strong voice on council.
On December 4, I ask that you vote 1 in Group B if you live in West Ward of Randwick City Council to help get me re-elected.
