The image above repeatedly goes up on a Facebook now being used to post community event notifications on a new online initiative of the City of Canning:  “What’s on in Canning?”.

The event, an upcoming dinner run in part by Bentley Community Focus, isn’t the problem – the content that can be found on the Facebook (FB) used to upload it, which the owner invites members of the community to “PM” [privately message] through might be….

So apart from the obvious – the *extra* info about the City and its Council to be found – what is the problem exactly?

The posts are from the Facebook of Franco A Lanza – the Chair of Bentley Community Focus (BCF), a not-for-profit body which receives significant benefits from the City of Canning (funds, use of its facilities/land and four of its staff in its membership, three of which serve on its committee)… and it looks very much like Mr Lanza has no problem biting the hand that feeds it!

Years ago, so I’m told, Mayor Paul Ng’s former group, Riverton Rossmoyne Shelley Residents Assoc, had the steely eye cast over adverse comments they made through the media about the City and funds withheld as a result.  How is Mr Lanza using social media to denigrate the Council any different?

Today, the relevant policy has been watered down – but the sorts of posts above, from the very people who benefit from ratepayers monies, looks bad and smells worse.

Franco A Lanza (then known as Frank Lanza) ran for Mason Ward, where the BCF hails from, in the last local govt elections.  He wasn’t involved with the group then and fared poorly…  perhaps the reasons for this weren’t surprising.

Franco, a vigorous WA Labor soldier in receipt of resources from its membership as part of his campaign, was contemptuous of another council nominee, now Mason Ward Councillor, Jesse Jacobs (a member of the Liberal Party), and was involved in an incident that ended in court with another nominee, now also a Mason Ward Councillor, Ayse Martli.

It doesn’t seem Mr Lanza has learned much since then – and after scorching the earth as relates to those councillors, the best he could say when approaching the Canning Times to do an article about the BCF was that he would involve Mason Ward councillors eventually.

Perhaps Mr Lanza is already electioneering for a council spot in 2017?  Let’s face it – he could easily have set up a BCF Facebook in the six months he’s been its Chair, but he prefers to use that personal FB, which regularly gets stuck in to people who could help the group and reduce its dependency on the City of Canning (surrounding Liberal pollies or senators, for instance), turns up on Cr. Christine Cunningham’s FB regularly and that of Bentley Community Garden, a subset of BCF and a group no doubt wanting to apply for City grants in its own right.

The FB gets wiped of its attacks on forms of governance regularly – it was taken down fast enough when Mr Lanza became aware it was being scrutinised recently, but then more of the same goes up again…. Man can’t seem to help himself.

I doubt its going to help the BCF and the Bentley Community Garden long term.

Either way, Franco/Frank Lanza is back and maybe he’ll be a flea in your ear sometime soon, and then again in the lead up to the next local govt election!

Images and extracts print screened from the public Facebook of Franco A Lanza over the last year
Article on Bentley Community Focus appeared in the Canning Times 26 January 2016