Former mayors push for next leader of the Northern Beaches Council to be popularly elected

THE two former peninsula mayors are backing a calls to give residents the vote on who should be leader of the Northern Beaches Council.

Former Manly Mayor Jean Hay and former Warringah Mayor Michael Regan in Manly. Picture: Braden Fastier.

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THE two former peninsula mayors are backing a calls to give residents the vote on who should be leader of the Northern Beaches Council.

Warringah’s Michael Regan and Manly’s Jean Hay say northern beaches residents deserve the final say on who should be mayor.

And following inquiries by the Manly Daily, the council yesterday revealed that it would consider a referendum on the matter, which could be included in the September 2017 election, bringing the decision forward by four years.

Under the current timetable, the mayor would be chosen by councillors voted in at next September’s election.

If this schedule remains, a referendum on whether people want a popularly elected mayor could be included in the 2021 election.

This means the first northern beaches mayor would not be voted by the people until 2025 at the earliest.

Late yesterday the council said administrator Dick Persson was considering pushing up that timetable and including a referendum in next year’s vote, which means the first elected mayor could be in 2021.

Chair of Mr Persson’s top adviser group, Jean Hay said it should be “the choice of the people”.

New Northern Beaches administrator Dick Persson and interim GM Mark Ferguson.

Mrs Hay said when mayors were elected by their peers “there’s a lot of wheeling and dealing”.

“They spend half the year doing that before each mayoral election,” she said.

Mr Regan confirmed he would run for mayor, but preferred to be elected to the position: “It’s proven to be effective in Warringah in the last two terms and in Manly for over 20 years,” he said.

Late yesterday, the council’s general manager Mark Ferguson said the administrator would consider his options.

“In view of the public position on it, we will have discussions with the Minister for Local Government’s office to see what the administrators powers are, and if he has the ability to conduct a poll of electors,” he said.

It follows an email which was sent to Mr Persson from the Terrey Hills Progress Association asking him to “give serious consideration” to a popularly elected mayor.

Its recently retired president Peter Addison said they would rather “the whole of the northern beaches has a say, than half of the 15 elected councillors”.

A spokeswoman for Local Government Minister Paul Toole said: “the proclamation requires that the first Mayor of the Northern Beaches Council will be elected by councillors in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993.”

If Mr Persson sticks to the proclamation residents would have to wait almost a decade to have a mayor they elected at the helm of the Northern Beaches Council.

But it is not set in stone, with it already changed to let administrators to rezone.

Mr Regan “noted that the community did not really support” the process where a mayor was elected by peers. “People I speak to would prefer that a mayor is elected in an open and transparent manner where the whole community has a voice.

“To me the system of a peer elected Mayor is a step backwards.”

Premier Mike Baird has remained steadfast that the way a mayor is elected should be the decision of elected councillors.

“It will be up to the councillors of the new Northern Beaches Council to make the decisions that best reflect their communities,” he said.

And late yesterday, Northern Beaches Council’s general manager Mark Ferguson said the administrator would liaise with the minister’s office and consider his options.

“In view of the public position on it, we will have discussions with the Minister for Local Government’s office to see what the administrators powers are, and if he has the ability to conduct a poll of electors.”