Willoughby candidates deny pre-election pact
Rumours abound about pre-election deals made between Willoughby Council candidates ahead of Saturday’s election. Also find out where to vote and who is running.
North Shore
Don't miss out on the headlines from North Shore. Followed categories will be added to My News.
WHEELING and dealing behind the scenes could see Willoughby Council’s leadership team sewn up before Saturday’s election.
The North Shore Times understands that should the votes fall in her favour and Gail Giles-Gidney be re-elected as mayor, Naremburn ward councillor Nic Wright would be appointed deputy mayor.
It is understood the deal was done to encourage Cr Wright to stop opposing motions supported by Cr Giles-Gidney, but she denied that was the case.
“It’s a new rumour to me,” she said. “I haven’t heard that one at all. From my personal perspective, no (there have been no deals done). I can’t talk for anybody else.”
Cr Wright said the rumour was news to him.
“I would love to have a deputy mayorship in my future,” he said.
“I’ve heard similar rumours about other candidates.
“I suspect until such time as the numbers are known and the final makeup of the council is decided, it is all conjecture.”
Cr Giles-Gidney also continued to refute claims that her Liberal membership, particularly her role as president of the Federal Electoral Conference for North Sydney, was a conflict for her as a nominally independent Willoughby councillor.
“The whole Liberal Party thing I think is a furphy,” she said. “If you look at my voting record, I don’t vote on Liberal Party lines, I use community feedback on my own conscience.
“It’s quite misleading. If I’m telling the electorate I’m a Liberal, they expect me to vote on party lines.
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. It’s not necessarily the case that I will vote on those lines.”
Cr Giles-Gidney was particularly angry at suggestion her role for the FEC – particularly eliciting donations for the federal member’s election campaign – potentially interfered with her role as mayor.
“I’m outraged. That’s heading into dangerous territory,” she said.
“If there was any question of that I would be very concerned and fighting it at the highest level.
“There are very strict laws around any associations as a mayor I can have and strict guidelines I must adhere to.
“I’m worried if people are trying to draw those lines.”
Questions over commitment
AS Willoughby residents prepare to head to the polls this weekend, the dedication of some councillors has been called into question.
Documents on councillor attendance at meetings throughout the 2016-17 financial year, publicly available on Willoughby Council’s website and obtained through the freedom of information act, reveal some councillors have been lax in attendance.
These include mayoral candidate Angelo Rozos, who was found to have attended 19 of 24 council meetings, but only four of 17 general manager briefings, and one of seven ward councillor inspections.
Cr Rozos said, as a council, Willoughby was “over-meeting”. “Some of them weren’t relevant. There’s too many meetings,” he said.
“The meetings are at the cost of the public dollar. You could have one meeting a month rather than having four meetings.
“Some of the briefings were irrelevant. The council meetings are about planning and planning and planning, but not a lot of implementation. The ward meetings I did attend a lot, so I can’t really answer those figures. I have attended more ward meetings than that.”
Other councillors who also had low meeting attendance included Michelle Sloane and Rachel Hill.
Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney attended all council meetings, but only 11 of 17 general manager briefings.
Meanwhile, Cr Wendy Norton attended 100 per cent of all meetings.
Willoughby candidates
Middle Harbour
Angelo Rozos (Ind/Lib); Imogen Payter (Ind/Lib); Caroline Michel (Ind); Wendy Norton (Ind); Robert Wilson (Ind); Becky Timmins (Ind); Judith Rutherford (Ind/Lib); Chris Bowen (Ind/Lib); Audrey Chan (Ind)
Naremburn
Christine Tuon (Ind); Karen Pearson (Ind/Lib); Andrew Larkey (Ind); Max Underhill (Ind); Bob Taffel (Ind); Michelle Sloane (Ind); Shree Napit (Ind/Lib); Johana Vivanco (Ind); Dan Huang (Ind); Stuart Coppock (Ind/Lib); Brian O’Gallagher (Ind); Andrew Fisher (Ind); Simon Fuller (Ind); Fiona Fuller (Ind); William Taing (Ind); Nic Wright (Ind/ALP); April Pressler (Ind/ALP); Glenda Gartrell (Ind/ALP)
Sailors Bay
Denis Fernandez (Ind); Rachel Hill (Ind); John Steel (Ind); Gail Giles-Gidney (Ind/Lib); Hugh Eriksson (Ind/Lib); Brendon Zhu (Ind/Lib); Miranda Di Ciano (Ind); Tanya Taylor (Ind)
West
Craig Campbell (Ind); Deb Fung (Ind); Nicholas Lim (Ind); Maria Chan (Ind); Kathryn Habkouk (Ind); Walter Tinyow (Ind); Tony Mustaca (Ind/Lib); Sarkis Mouradian (Ind); James Flynn (Ind/Lib); Lynne Saville (Gr); Seamus Lee (Gr); Marie Clifton-Bassett (Gr); Meixi (Maisy) Yan (Ind); Garry Cussell (Ind); Edward Xu (Ind); Arman Soetanto (Ind); Kenrick Cheah (Ind/ALP); Robert O’Brien (Ind/ALP); Peter Zacharatos (Ind/ALP)
Legend. (Ind) Independent candidate. (Ind/Lib) Candidate a member of the Liberal Party but running as an independent. (Ind/ALP) Candidate a member of the Australian Labor Party but running as an independent. (Gr) Greens candidate.
Where to vote
In Willoughby, the council is made up of 12 councillors and the mayor. The 12 councillors each represent one of the four wards that make up Willoughby, while the mayor represents all the wards.
Voting on Election Day is available at the following locations between 8am and 6pm:
Middle Harbour
Castle Cove Public School
Castlecrag Community Centre
Chatswood Public School
Civic Pavilion, The Concourse
St Barnabas Anglican Church Hall Roseville
Willoughby Park Centre
Willoughby Public School
Willoughby Uniting Church
Naremburn
Artarmon Community Centre
Artarmon Public School
Civic Pavilion, The Concourse
Naremburn After School Care and Community Centre
Narermburn Cammeray Anglican Church
Willoughby Public School
Sailors Bay
Artarmon Community Centre
Castlecrag Community Centre
Civic Pavilion, The Concourse
Naremburn Cammeray Anglican Church
Northbridge Public School
Northside Baptist Preschool
Willoughby Park Centre
Willoughby Public School
Willoughby Uniting Church
West
Chatswood Girl Guide Hall
Chatswood Public School
Civic Pavilion, The Concourse
Holy Trinity Chapel Hall Chatswood West
Mowbray Public School
Chad’s Ark: Zookeeper fights to protect three parks from floods
Beloved zookeeper Chad Staples, who has three wildlife parks in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and on the South Coast, is fighting to stop floodwaters encroaching on his properties – and on his animal kingdom.
1st Colts rugby state of play: winners, losers, stars, surprises
After seven rounds there’s one certainty in Sydney Rugby Union 1st Colts - it’s still anyone’s game. The winners, losers, stars, surprises and best storylines so far this season.