Meet your candidates for the upcoming local government election
THIRTY-SEVEN candidates will stand for Waverley Council’s four wards in the September 9 election. Meanwhile, Residents First candidates seeking election to Woollahra Council have marked their lines of battle.
Wentworth Courier
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THIRTY-SEVEN candidates will stand for Waverley Council’s four wards in the September 9 election.
The Liberal and Labor parties have nominated three candidates each for every ward, as have the Greens except for Hunter ward.
Three independent candidates will stand for Hunter and one for Lawson but none for Bondi or Waverley.
The Liberal’s candidates are current Mayor Sally Betts, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ Will Nemesh and Daniel Amzallag for Hunter ward; Leon Goltsman (pictured) , who runs his own marketing business, retired volunteer Lynda Hall and Alex Pappas for Bondi; deputy Mayor Tony Kay, Bill Mouroukas, who works at a tax accounting business, and James Szczepanski for Waverley; and Angela Burrill, who has her own business consultancy, Andrew Cusack, who runs financial advice and mortgage and accounting services, and Elliott Donazzan for Lawson.
“The Liberals are very proud of their achievements over the past five years, posting a surplus every year since taking over from Labor’s deficit, whilst at the same time continuing to reduce the backlog in infrastructure that we inherited in 2008,” the Liberal party said in a statement.
“Additionally we have built children’s playgrounds, synthetic playing fields and multipurpose courts, plus provided more parking and an increase in the stock of affordable housing.”
Labor’s candidates are urban economist John Wakefield, Bondi Beach precinct convenor Lenore Kulakauskas and David Elfick for Bondi ward; lawyer Steven Lewis, actor and producer Di Smith (above) and Peter Henne for Hunter; communications and multiculturalism consultant Paula Masselos, academic and human-resources expert Dr Keri Spooner and John Jamieson for Lawson; economist and academic Dr Marjorie O’Neill, economist and commodities analyst Tim Murray and Thane Pearce for Waverley.
“Labor is fielding a very impressive team and we have a real chance of winning this election,” the Labor party said in a statement.
The Greens’ candidates include industrial relations consultant Elaine Keenan, community activist Mora Main and teacher Boaz Magal for Lawson ward; IT professional George Copeland, community activist Prue Cancian and marketing professional Kathryn Maiden for Waverley; and long-time councillor Dominic Kanak, Ludovico Fabiano and Maria Kovner for Bondi.
There are no Greens candidates running for Hunter ward.
The independent candidates include Paul Arico for Lawson ward; Miriam Guttman-Jones, Judi Hall and Annette Guerry for Hunter ward.
Labor councillor Ingrid Strewe and Liberal councillor Joy Clayton will not stand again this year.
Residents First mark the lines of battle
THE Residents First candidates seeking election to Woollahra Council have pledged to oppose voluntary amalgamation, overdevelopment and the proposed expansion of Rose Bay mega marina.
Residents First spokeswoman and Cooper ward councillor Luise Elsing expect they will do even better at the September 9 poll than they did in 2012, when they got a candidate up in each of the five wards. The independent group of residents represent the main rival to the Liberal party.
Cr Elsing, 55, dismissed the notion they would not get as many candidates elected now the Liberals had abandoned the merger between Woollahra, Waverley and Randwick.
Even dyed-in-the-wool Liberal voters had been threatening to abandon the party if it pushed ahead with the unpopular policy.
“Only Residents First councillors will stand up for the community against excessive development applications,” Cr Elsing said.
“The previous Liberal-dominated council approved developments that exceeded existing planning controls substantially, despite opposition from council officers and residents, while Residents First councillors voted against them.
“Many people believe that local government should be in the hands of the local community and not political parties, which have wider agendas.
“Residents First councillors will ensure that community concerns on local issues, such as expansion of the Rose Bay marina, are taken into account in council decisions.
“Although Woollahra’s amalgamation with other councils has been placed ‘on the back burner for the time being, the State Liberal party remains committed to council amalgamation.”
Cr Elsing has the No. 1 spot on the ticket in Cooper where barrister Geoff Rundle, 64, who was mayor of Woollahra in 2004 and 2007, will run as the No. 2.
Advertising and marketing professional Claudia Cullen, 45, who represented the ward from 2004 to 2008, is their lead candidate in Vaucluse where Catherine Stallman is running second on the ticket.
Mark Silcocks, 54, is their lead candidate in Double Bay, where management consultant Giles Edmonds is running as the No. 2.
Mr Silcocks led the campaign against six-storey developments in the commercial heart of Double Bay.
On Monday he decided to temporarily stand down as the president of the Double Bay Residents’ Association pending the outcome of the election.
Lawyer Lucinda Regan, 45, is the lead candidate in Bellevue Hill where CH International Trading manager Rosalie Hirsch is the No. 2.
Solicitor Harriet Price is the No. 1 in Paddington where Martin Green has the second spot on the ticket.
Mr Rundle said: “Residents are sick and tired of being ignored by politicians, we don’t want to be amalgamated, we don’t overdevelopment and we want to protect our heritage, trees and waterways.”
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