Manningham council: Mayor Paul McLeish dumped, Stephen and Laura Mayne elected
A serial activist and former Melbourne councillor has been voted back onto Manningham council – and his 19-year-old daughter is joining him. But the mayor and two veteran councillors have been dumped.
East
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Manningham Council will have some fresh faces after the former mayor and two long-serving councillors failed in their bids for re-election.
Mayor Paul McLeish, his deputy Mike Zafiropoulos and veteran councillor Dot Haynes have all lost their spots on council following the October 24 election.
Cr McLeish was trumped by Greens candidate and recent university graduate Tomas Lightbody in the contest for Manna Ward.
Mayor McLeish was at the helm this year when the councillors made a controversial push for a pay rise following VEC approval, which would have put an extra $19,000 in his pocket.
The councillors eventually deferred the decision until after the council elections, following public backlash and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Serial activist and former Manningham and City of Melbourne councillor Stephen Mayne will return to council, winning the contest in the new Ruffey Ward.
He will be joined by 19-year-old daughter Laura, who prevailed in Schramm Ward over veteran councillor Dot Haynes.
“We weren’t expecting both of us to win, but it's a thrill that it’s happened,” Mr Mayne said.
“We’re going to be cautious and careful and constructive and hopefully it will be a great experience.”
Former councillor and mayor Paula Piccinini – Mr Mayne’s wife and Ms Mayne’s mother -opted not to contest this year’s polls.
The other new faces will be Deirdre Diamante in Doncaster’s Tullamore ward, and Carli Lange in Yarra Ward, which covers Warrandyte, Warrandyte South, Park Orchards and Wonga Park.
Ms Lange was elected despite making an eye-raising slip-up in her candidate summary.
She declared she was an independent with no political affiliation before including words of support from Warrandyte state Liberal MP Ryan Smith.
Incumbent councillors Geoff Gough, Anna Chen, Andrew Conlon and Michelle Klienert were all re-elected.
Cr Kleinert triumphed over fellow councillor Mike Zafiropoulos and four others to be elected in Templestowe’s Westerfolds ward.
The council has moved to nine single-councillor wards, instead of three wards with three councillors each, following a VEC review this year.
The new council will be sworn in at a later date.
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