Sacked mayors of Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville set up the ‘Elected Mayors Council of the Inner West’

They are the rebel mayors who have cried it’s not fair.

Sacked mayors Darcy Byrne (Leichhardt), Lucille McKenna (Ashfield) and Sam Iskandar (Marrickville) outside Petersham Town Hall following the Baird government’s amalgamation of local councils. Picture: Jane Dempster

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THEY are the rebel mayors who have cried it’s not fair.

Darcy Byrne (Leichhardt), Lucille McKenna (Ashfield) and Sam Iskandar (Marrickville) may no longer officially­ be mayors but they are still very much so by name and by nature.

The trio — all Labor Party members — have formed the “Elected Mayors Council of the Inner West” to back up a bold declaration by Mr Byrne on the day the State Government’s council amalgamation plan was announced.

“If they think it’s over today, they’ve got another thing coming,” Mr Byrne told a press conference, some 90 minutes after he was sacked as mayor.

For the past few weeks it had been common knowledge the state government was to make its move on council amalgamations in mid-May.

But the trio were blindsided by their instant dismissal, something they say was ordered off the table by the Local Government Minister, Paul Toole, late last year.

“We were promised by the minister that we would stay in place to until the next election, to our faces ... last November,” Ms McKenna said.

“And now we find ourselves 18 months out of the next election with no role to play.”

Mr Iskandar said: “Let me assure the residents of Marrickville ... we will continue to work together to correct this big, big mistake.”

The trio are set to be a thorn in the side of administrator Richard Pearson.

“As mayors who were elected by our communities we want to make it clear to local people that we will continue to be accessible and to be their advocates,” Mr Byrne, who has taken the lead role in the group, said.

“The interim council has been set up to serve the Liberal Party’s interest, our Elected Mayors Council will act as a counterbalance and serve the interests of local residents. It is important for the unelected­ administrator and the Premier (Mike Baird) to know that we will be scrutinising them from now until democracy is restored in our communities.”

A online petition has also been launched urging Mr Baird to “restore our local, democratically elected representatives”.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

THE idea that there should be an area known as the Inner West Council was mocked by some Marrickville councillors last month but the State Government has had the last laugh.

The name, floated by Marrickville councillor at the time and Summer Hill state Labor MP Jo Haylen, has now been embraced by her Coalition counterparts.

Leichhardt, Marrickville and Ashfield councils now cease to exist, replaced by one council. All 36 councillors, including the mayors, were turfed out last Thursday.

An administrator, Richard Pearson, has been appointed to oversee the new council, with five wards and about 185,000 residents.

“Richard is a former deputy secretary of the Department of Planning and Environment, where he managed the department’s regional office network, including frontline liaison with local councils,” a State Government website said.

The merger has been on the cards for months. All three councils agreed last November to submit a joint merger proposal, despite maintaining they each preferred to stand alone.

It was announced as the government’s preferred option a month later and given the rubber stamp last week.

Many of the former councillors took to social media to vent their disgust over the sacking decision.

By Friday afternoon, many were still waiting for formal advice on what was to happen with their council-issued equipment.

WHO DO YOU CALL?

RESIDENTS have been told that it is business as usual when it comes to roads, rates and rubbish.

Following last week’s merger announcement, the government was quick to assure council services will run as normal.

“Council facilities will continue to operate just as they have in the past; for example, the library and pool will maintain their regular opening hours and community halls can still be booked as usual,” the government’s Stronger Councils website said.

Residents can still call each of the three councils on their numbers.

Rates can be paid as normal and there is a guarantee they will not increase at any stage within the next four years.

Council and committee meetings will still be held, although with no mayor or councillors. But neither meeting dates nor their locations have been scheduled as yet.

Development applica­tions will be dealt with in the same way as they have been in the past. The new council will not be able to change planning regula­tions already in place.

All existing council staff, with the exception of executive staff, will keep their jobs for at least the next three years.