‘Goes with the territory’: tough talk from Coffs Harbour mayoral candidate
“If you put your hand up, it goes with the territory.” Mayor candidate Rodger Pryce says intense scrutiny comes with the top job.
Coffs Harbour
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Mayoral candidate in the September elections, Rodger Pryce, says the potential for intense, sometimes personal, scrutiny comes with the top job.
He was asked about the harsh criticism current mayor Denise Knight has faced in relation to the Cultural and Civic Space at the recent launch of his party Together We’ll Fix It, who are highly critical of the Gordon St project.
He concedes it may be too late to stop the controversial Cultural and Civic Space, but if elected, he would sit down with builders to see what changes could be made.
Although current Councillors Sally Townley, George Cecato and Michael Adendorff have consistently voted with the mayor to proceed with the project, now estimated to cost in excess of $80m, Cr Knight has often been singled out by those who oppose it.
Protesters have targeted her particularly in relation to her use of the casting vote.
The retirement of Cr Jan Strom due to illness in March 2019 has left an even number of Crs and the potential for a tied vote. Cr Strom was elected in 2016, but was absent from meetings for several months prior to her official retirement.
In March this year she spoke out against claims by protesters that ‘democracy was dead’ due to the casting vote.
She slammed these claims as “incorrect and dangerously misleading”.
But Mr Pryce says it’s all just part of the job.
“If you put your hand up, it goes with the territory.”
His running mate and second on the team ticket Nikki Williams says the mayor has brought it upon herself not listening to what she firmly believes is the majority who are against the project the way it is - with council offices but no entertainment centre.
Other Mayoral candidates to put their hand up so far:
Dean Evers – Mr Evers has worked in the social services sector in Coffs Harbour since 1999. Back then he was with the Department of Community Services (DOCS) but now heads the local charity Hope for the Homeless.
From June, the Boambee resident is hitting up “30 venues in 30 days” in an effort to gather views from a broad cross-section of people from across the local government area.
Tony Judge – Woolgoolga local Tony Judge announced in February last year that he would be running for Council when the elections were still scheduled to go ahead in September 2020.
In recent weeks he confirmed he will also be putting his hand up for Mayor.
It was the Woolgoolga Dam water sell-off plan that finally convinced Tony Judge to run for Coffs Harbour City Council. The former Commonwealth public servant ran as a Labor candidate in the 2019 State election.
Jonathan Cassell – It was expected Mr Cassell would be running on behalf of the Greens, but his official team announcement was timed to coincide with Greens MP Cate Faehrmann’s recent visit to the region.
Mr Cassell ran as a Greens candidate for the seat of Coffs Harbour in the 2019 NSW State elections. Joining him on the Greens team are Tim Nott, Natalie Stevens and Maureen Burgess.
Coffs Harbour City Council elections are administered by the NSW Electoral Commission.
Council is holding a number of election candidate information sessions for people considering nominating in the elections on September 4.
The sessions are designed to help people decide if standing for election is the right decision for them and to give an indication of what to expect if elected.
An aspiring women candidates information session will be held at 6pm on Monday (May 31) at Council Offices, Coffs Harbour.
Election candidate information sessions:
- Woolgoolga, 6pm Tuesday, June 1, Woolgoolga Library, Woolgoolga
- Boambee East, 11am Tuesday June 8, Boambee East Community Centre.
- Coffs Harbour, Council Offices, 6pm Wednesday June 9,
Go to Council’s website to find out more.
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