Northern Beaches Council: Candy Bingham steps away from long-standing deputy mayor role
High profile Northern Beaches’ deputy mayor Candy Bingham has stepped down from the role after four years. Sue Heins is her successor.
Manly
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Longstanding deputy mayor Candy Bingham did not put her name forward for the role at a vote at Tuesday night’s Northern Beaches Council meeting.
Cr Bingham, an independent councillor who has been deputy to Mayor Michael Regan for four one-year terms, said it was time for someone else to have a go.
Another independent Sue Heins, who is part of the mayor’s Your Northern Beaches Independent team that holds six seats on the 15-member council, won the vote to take the deputy’s job.
Cr Heins, who served one year as deputy mayor from September 2018 and was a deputy mayor on the former Warringah Council, was opposed in the ballot by Green’s councillor Miranda Korzy and Liberal Bianca Crevlin.
Cr Korzy and Cr Krevlin joined the council after the December local government elections.
Cr Bingham, who has a high public profile, especially in the Manly Ward — and who has been an independent councillor on both Manly and Northern Beaches councils since 2012 — told the Manly Daily before the meeting that she supported Cr Heins, from the Curl Curl Ward, as deputy mayor.
The current deputy mayor has also been the public face of the community campaign for the return of the iconic Freshwater-class Manly ferries after they were replaced by the troubled fleet of three Emerald-class Generation 2 vessels on the run to Circular Quay.
“I’ve been the deputy mayor for four years and I think it’s important that someone of Sue’s extensive experience gets the opportunity to have the important role,” Cr Bingham said.
“I’ll be standing down, reluctantly, and nominating Sue.”
Cr Korzy, from the Pittwater Ward, said on Tuesday, prior to the meeting, that with no political party or groups of independents having an outright majority on the council, it was appropriate that the mayor and deputy mayor come from “different groupings”.
“I have huge respect for Sue Heins, she works very hard and has a lot of experience,” Cr Korzy said.
“I am running because I think it will serve the council better to have diversity in the mayor and deputy mayor’s positions.
“I’m putting it out there that I will be a candidate and it’s open to anyone who choses to vote for me.”
Non-aligned independent councillor Vincent De Luca said before the meeting that Mayor Regan, and what he described as his “political party”, where “once again playing politics” and not sharing the deputy mayor’s job with other areas of the council.
Cr De Luca said the Pittwater and Narrabeen wards have never had the opportunity of a deputy mayor.
“It’s always been someone in (Mr Regan’s) party or faction,” r De Luca said.
“Local government shouldn’t be dominated by political parties, and this again, is another example.”
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