Liberal preselection northern beaches: The new names who will help turn peninsula Liberal
As nominations close for the Liberal’s local preselection on the peninsula, we reveal who is in the running.
Manly
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The Liberal Party is working on a battle plan to win control of Northern Beaches Council next year, with sources saying they can win 10 out of the 15 seats, despite the loss of two senior members.
It comes as nominations for potential local Liberal candidates for next September’s election closed at 5pm on Wednesday.
Two experienced Liberals are missing from the list of nominees.
Long-time party member Cr Pat Daley from the Manly ward announced earlier this week he won’t be running at next year’s election, leaving a space vacant for a new Liberal face at the southern end of the peninsula.
Multiple sources have said Cr Kylie Ferguson in Pittwater will also step aside. She has refused to return calls on the matter.
The deadline for nominations was yesterday, but it won’t be known for some time how many Liberal candidates will be fielded and whether there will be a contest in some wards.
But there will be plenty of new faces, as just three of the five current Liberal councillors, Rory Amon, Stuart Sprott and David Walton, are believed to have put their names forward.
Cr Rory Amon, currently representing Narrabeen, will run in Pittwater, a source says. That’s currently Cr Ferguson’s ward.
It is understood that one new face who has put his name in the hat is David Lovell, vice-president of the Northern Beaches Liberal Local Government Conference.
He is looking to be the candidate in Narrabeen.
Meanwhile, Lee Furlong, who is “very powerful within the party” and is said to be close to Liberal lobbyist David Begg, is also believed to have put his name forward
He’s Vice President of the Liberal Warringah Federation Conference and President of the Manly branch. He’s going for the Manly seat and many believe he will have a clear path now that Cr Daley, who has been in local politics for 20 years, is retiring.
While, some say Mr Furlong is well thought of, he has ruffled a few feathers within the party.
Another new face is Liberal activist, Doug Price, a real estate agent, who is understood to have nominated in Manly and Pittwater, which has annoyed members in the north who see it as a play by the Manly branch to take control of some of their turf.
Bianca Crvelin, a former staffer for federal Liberal Mackellar MP Jason Falinski, told the Manly Daily she was not running, however, sources say she has nominated in Narrabeen and Frenchs Forest.
Former top cop Dave Darcy’s name has also been bandied about in terms of next year’s election.
He’s been linked to the Liberals previously, but is also believed to be close to Mayor Michael Regan, with sources saying he could run as an independent.
However, when contacted by the Manly Daily, Mr Darcy categorically denied he would be running in any election, saying that after 38 years in the police, his wife would not be impressed if he pursued a new career in politics.
He said he was enjoying retirement, but that wouldn’t stop him being vocal about local issues such as objecting to the council’s decision to knock down the unauthorised mountain bike jumps in Seaforth.
Meanwhile, former Warringah councillor Jose Menano-Pires, has decided not to put himself forward after considering it over the weekend, sources say.
For the first time, members who have been with the party for two years or more will get to vote on their preferred candidate. But that is unlikely to happen before the end of the year.
There are several hundred northern beaches party members, so it will be a significant event if there are seats with more than one nominee.
But the end goal, according to a source, is to win control of the council, currently headed by Your Northern Beaches Independent Team Mayor Michael Regan.
“We regard 10 of the 15 seats as winnable,” said a Liberal member.
“And, we plan to win all 10.”
To win control of the council they need eight seats and with two experienced councillors dropping out, it will be a tough task, say some.
Cr Pat Daley told the Manly Daily with new faces on the scene it was important to support the established Liberals.
“It is imperative that the party now gets right behind and fully supports the remaining three
councillors who are still running for preselection,” he said.
However, there are some within the party who shudder at the thought of Liberals at local council level full stop.
One senior Liberal said Northern Beaches Council was an “attractive target” for powerful people who may want to exert their influence over such a large entity.
“Part of the downside of amalgamation is that it becomes more attractive to external influence,” the source said.
“If untoward things happen in local government it can have an impact at state and federal levels.”
Another criticism of allowing major political parties at local council level is that if they are in the minority they act like an opposition.
For anyone watching local politics, Northern Beaches Council meetings have become increasingly prickly, with the Liberals often voting together against the independents who come under the umbrella of Mayor Michael Regan’s ‘party’.
Cr Regan has previously stressed that his “token political party” was set up to allow independent candidates to have a name above the line on voting forms and is not a major political party, “not Macquarie St, not head office, not Canberra”, but “just northern beaches locals” representing the “interests of locals only”.
He has also said his members do not bloc vote.
But many Liberals including former Manly mayor and President of the Northern Beaches Liberals, Jean Hay, claim most are not truly independent, but left-leaning greenies.
The Liberals’ plan to take over northern beaches, is part of a bigger battle to win back the federal seat of Warringah which independent MP Zali Steggall won last year.
The preselection for the Warringah candidate is yet to take place, but nominations are likely to open before Christmas.
It is understood there will be a big Liberal seminar on the peninsula next year, as part of a “call to arms” to turn Warringah blue again. “That’s where the big battle plan will be put into place,” said one party member.
“The Liberal Party needs to take back control of the northern beaches,” the source said. “It will be all hands on deck.”
Cr Regan told the Manly Daily it was way too early to be talking about an election and that current councillors should be “focused on getting our community through the current crisis”.
“People are losing their jobs, watching their business fold or are separated from loved ones,” he said.
“Now is not the time to be looking at an election that is a year away or looking to advance your own political career.”
Deputy Mayor Cr Candy Bingham, who said she would be running again next year as she had projects she was working on that she wanted to see come to fruition, said she felt there was no place for major political parties in local politics.
“You only have to look through the records on how the Liberals have voted,” she said.
“They rarely support environmental interests which is so important to our community,” she said.
“My concern is that a number of people standing under a major political party are ambitious and pursuing a political career and that’s their main focus.”
She also questioned whether the traditional Liberal voting northern beaches was still a brand locals supported.
“Does their brand even resonate with people here anymore?” she said.
That is a question that can only be answered next year.