Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley announces retirement

A south coast mayor has accidentally let the secret slip – she will not be running for re-election after holding the position for two terms.

Shoalhaven Council mayor Amanda Findley.

A south coast mayor has accidentally let the secret slip – she is not running for re-election after two terms in the position.

The announcement came from Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley who was elected to Shoalhaven Council in 2008 and held the position of mayor for two terms.

Mrs Findley let the secret slip while guest speaking at a community event in Newcastle – 374km north of her local government area.

The councillor of more than 15 years was invited to speak at the meeting about Shoalhaven’s democracy and planning in local government.

“I’m standing down,” Mrs Findley said at the meeting.

Shoalhaven Council mayor Amanda Findley spoke in Newcastle.

“I haven’t told my community that.”

The move comes after a rocky 12 months for the Shoalhaven – which spans south of Ulladulla and slightly north of Nowra – with Mrs Findley leading her community through a controversial proposed rate rise.

Shoalhaven Council chambers.

While the mayhem including heated council debates and community scrutiny ended with a rate rise of four per cent, it could have been a far worse 44 per cent across three years, after an independent review in November last year by economic specialists AEC Group found the coastal council was not “financially sustainable”.

The decision to step down also arises after Mrs Findley and the rest of council voted to increase their pay by a substantial amount in June last year, turning the mayoral position into a six-figure job, with a salary of $127,540.

While speaking at the Newcastle meeting, Mrs Findley said it was time to step down for “Shoalhaven democracy”.

“I would put it to people that we should be looking at limited tenure because, around that capture as well, there is a risk for elected members to start acting like bureaucrats,” she said.

While Mrs Findley did not mention her future goals, or whether she would remain in politics in some way or form, history suggests she could be interested in higher office, after running for the state seat of the South Coast for the Greens Party in the 2023 election and previously running for the NSW Senate for the Greens.

Mrs Findley will step down as Shoalhaven Mayor following the September local government elections.

The Shoalhaven mayor told The South Coast News she would provide further information about her decision on May 27.

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