Peaceful Bayside has three independent candidates standing for Bayside Council in the local government election: Heidi Lee Douglas, Imroze Ali and Joyce Campbell.
The Peaceful Bayside Action Group grew from a petition calling for peaceful streets in the local government area after mother-of-two, Heidi Lee Douglas was almost hit by a motorcycle on West Botany Street, Rockdale and then two cars in Bay Street, Brighton in separate incidents in July last year.
Heidi's petition collected more than 3,000 signatures calling for action to reduce the impact of car hoons in the Bayside area.
Since presenting the petition, Peaceful Bayside has been calling on Bayside Council, the Police and State Government to make Bayside streets safer, which has led to a crackdown on hooning.
"But we are disappointed that many of the commitments Bayside Council made to Peaceful Bayside have not been honoured," Heidi said.
This has prompted the action group to stand for council.
Peaceful Bayside candidates are focusing on safer streets; promoting family-friendly and inclusive neighbourhoods; support for local business and residents; protecting and advocating for vulnerable people of all ages; sustainability and well-managed green spaces; development that embraces design that complements community and environmental needs; and community consultation and transparency.
"We have a comprehensive policy platform to address the many needs of our community," Heidi said.
"Residents and businesses feel ignored by our council and many councillors. We understand what a big impact a good local council can have on our everyday lives. We want to make Bayside better."
Heidi is Peaceful Bayside's lead candidate.
She is a documentary filmmaker and is involved in local community groups and is a campaigner not-for-profit environmental and human rights organisations.
Heidi said that if elected to council she wouldl focus on initiatives to renew Bayside's business areas, create safer streets, establish community gardens and better-managed green spaces, address the high incidence of domestic violence in the area, support for the mental health of boys and men, and support activities for seniors through initiatives such as Men's Sheds, Women's Sheds, and Marine Sheds.
Peaceful Bayside candidate, Imroze Ali, works in customer-focused finance for a mortgage broker.
She is passionate about supporting people from migrant and ethnic backgrounds, especially women, to have a voice in the area and to have financial independence.
She also wants workplaces to be more flexible for working mothers with initiatives such as local hot-desk offices run by council to suit the flexible needs of modern working families.
As a resident of high-density living in Ramsgate, Imroze wants to help council better manage these areas including focusing on more rubbish collection, residential parking, and ensuring there are safe bike and pedestrian routes.
Joyce Campbell became involved in Peaceful Bayside to help stop anti-social behaviour in the area such as car hooning.
Joyce is a Business Adviser/Coach and Trainer, facilitating and keynote speaking on communication, leadership and culture change workshops.
As a Peaceful Bayside candidate, Joyce wants to improve the financial management of Bayside Council to result in increased investment in community projects and events that will deliver positive outcomes for residents and that will support local businesses.
Joyce also wants to focus on increasing the area's livability and prosperity of local businesses.
As part of the election campaign, Peaceful Bay is hosting a series of talks aimed at improving life for the Bayside community.
These talks were meant to be in person, but now because of the lockdown they will be free online.
"The first talk is with Peaceful Bayside candidate, Joyce Campbell who will be talking about learning how to recognise the early signs of distress behaviours and how people can keep themselves in the "OK" space. It's Thursday, July 29 at 7.30pm and can be booked online through https://www.peacefulbayside.com/events".
