Former Playford Council mayor Marilyn Baker becomes deputy mayor as Mal Hemmerling dispute continues
Veteran councillor Marilyn Baker has become Playford Council’s deputy mayor as it continues to grapple with the suspension of highly-paid chief executive Mal Hemmerling.
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Veteran councillor Marilyn Baker has successfully made a bid to become Playford Council’s deputy mayor as it continues to grapple with the suspension of highly-paid chief executive Mal Hemmerling.
Cr Baker made her move on Tuesday night at the council’s first public meeting since it met three times in secret earlier this month to confidentially discuss a workplace issue involving Dr Hemmerling.
The former Playford mayor for 12 years played a pivotal role at the three special council meetings which led to Dr Hemmerling’s suspension on full pay, moving motions to hold them behind closed doors.
Cr Baker, who lives in Elizabeth, told Tuesday’s meeting she had “stepped up” in recent weeks to help the council as it “faced difficult times”.
She had decided to seek the deputy mayoralty to continue to help councillors — especially those elected for the first time at this month’s elections — deal with the fallout over Dr Hemmerling’s suspension.
The council is awaiting a report by private consultants into how the council handled a workplace complaint against Dr Hemmerling, who is paid almost $370,000 a year.
Dr Hemmerling has responded by threatening to sue council for defamation and is seeking copies of various reports received by elected members at the secret meetings.
Cr Baker said she wanted to ensure council was not distracted from its objectives of transforming Adelaide’s northern suburbs in the wake of Holden’s closure 12 months ago.
“I have been back at council for eight years and have not been seeking any chairmanships,” she said.
“However, in the difficult times we now find ourselves in, I feel that, with my past experience as mayor, I will be required to step up, as has had already happened several times in recent weeks.
“I feel I have the knowledge to assist the city to move forward successfully.”
Cr Baker told The Advertiser she had been “encouraged” by people inside and outside council to enter the contest for deputy mayor, which she won 11-4 against the only other contender, Cr Andrew Craig.
“A lof people have come to me because of my long association with council and asked for advice,” she said.
Cr Baker said the council needed “a steady hand” who could help councillors who required mentoring and guidance.
“I just thought, because of the difficult times we are in at the moment, that a person experienced in leadership and council administration was needed (in the role),” she said.
“I have been very concerned and anxious (since the Hemmerling issue developed) that everything the city has been doing so well will be overshadowed.”
Cr Baker said she was “astounded” when the workplace matter involving Dr Hemmerling was first reported to elected members on the eve of this month’s council elections.
“To say it took me by surprise would be an understatement,” she said.
Cr Baker said the timing of the controversy was “inopportune” as it emerged while the council was in caretaker mode for the elections.
“I think we have since rallied around and obviously we are now awaiting the outcome (of the dispute),” she said.
“We have coped very well considering that the situation arose at such an inopportune time.”
Ruling out any bid for the mayoralty, Cr Baker said her only objective was to help the council and ensure it remained focus on its strategy of economic development for northern Adelaide.
WHO IS MARILYN BAKER
Elizabeth resident Marilyn Baker started in local government as a member of the former Elizabeth Council in 1991.
She was mayor of Elizabeth when the council merged with Munno Para Council in 1997 to create Playford Council.
Cr Baker remained mayor of Playford until the 2006 council elections, when she lost a mayoral contest by 14 votes to the last Munno Para mayor, Martin Lindsell.
Mr Lindsell lost the mayoralty in 2010, when he was beaten by Playford’s youngest ever mayor Glenn Docherty, then 25, while Cr Baker returned as a councillor.
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