City of Melbourne election: Sally Capp to once again be Melbourne’s Lord Mayor
Sally Capp will serve a second term as Lord Mayor after the City of Melbourne’s council election and now she says her main focus is getting workers back to the city safely.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp will be sworn in for another fouryear term following a thumping win in the City of Melbourne council election.
Ms Capp was announced the winner on Wednesday with a team of three others, including deputy Nicholas Reece, Roshena Campbell and Kevin Louey.
It comes after Ms Capp defeated former deputy lord mayor Arron Wood with a vote of 53.5 per cent to 46.5 per cent.
“I am absolutely delighted,” Ms Capp said after finding out she had won on Wednesday morning.
But she admitted it was a challenging job ahead in view of reopening after the pandemic.
“We know that Melbourne is at a pivotal time,” she said.
“We know that our city has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and it’s going to take a concerted effort by everyone to return our economy and our liveability.
“We believe, of course, that Melbourne is one of the best cities in the world, and making sure that the recovery and the revitalisation of our economy as a major economic engine room for our state, and for our nation returns as quickly as possible.”
The win saw Ms Capp’s main rival, Mr Wood, ousted.
He congratulated the new council, saying his team “ran a close & proud 2nd” to Ms Capp.
“I’m very proud of my 8yrs service to the city & strong campaign of my team,” he said on social media.
Other councillors elected are Jason Chang from Team Arron Wood; the ALP’s Davydd Griffiths; the Greens’ Dr Olivia Ball; Elizabeth Doidge; and Jamal Hakim.
Ms Doidge, who was on the ticket of ALP member Jennifer Yang, is a CFMEU official, with the team backed strongly by the CFMEU and some other Left unions.
Mr Hakim, who polled very few primary votes, was able to win through favourable preference deals that pushed him up in the counting.
Mr Hakim, who was promoted as an “LGBTQIA and Middle Eastern candidate”, lives in Docklands, with his mother, Safaa, also running on his ticket.
Deputy Lord Mayor-elect Nick Reece said Melbourne was facing the “most challenging time in our history and we are totally focused on our city’s recovery”.
“We are a city of diverse, talented and innovative people and we are poised for a comeback,” he said.
Ms Capp confirmed the previously announced freeze on council rate increases in 2021-22.
Councillors will be sworn in next week.
MORE NEWS: