Property Council executive Sally Capp has upper hand in lord mayoral race, say scrutineers

THE identity of Melbourne’s new lord mayor will not be officially announced until Friday evening. However, one candidate is easily leading the field based on a sample of votes counted.

PROPERTY Council executive Sally Capp has the early lead in the race to be Melbourne’s new lord mayor.

Ms Capp is understood to be polling just over 30 per cent of the vote, according to a sample of ballots seen by candidates’ scrutineers.

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Property Council executive Sally Capp is favourite to be next lord mayor.

Her nearest rival at this early stage of unofficial counting is believed to be ALP member Jennifer Yang, with a vote around 16 per cent.

Scrutineers believe that Ms Yang will outpoll Greens candidate Rohan Leppert, which would be a dismal result for the left-wing party.

Lord mayoral candidate Jennifer Yang.

Ms Capp’s campaign team is thought to be quietly confident with the voting trend, however official computer collation of votes by the Victorian Electoral Commission will not start until Thursday.

Valid postal votes can still be received up to midday Friday, with the VEC expected to announce the winner on Friday evening.

Greens candidate Rohan Leppert.

News of the voting trend came as the City of Melbourne revealed that motorists parking in the CBD will be hit with a 27 per cent fee hike, bringing the hourly rate to $7.

The jump from the current $5.50 an hour rate will help fill council coffers with an extra $6 million in parking fee revenue to a total $52 million in 2018-19, says its draft budget released yesterday.

Parking in the CBD will be more expensive.

Acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood said the move to lift parking fees wasn’t taken lightly.

“(But) it hasn’t occurred for five years ... it brings us into line with Sydney, so we know the price is about right,” he said.

Cr Wood said the council’s policy had generally been to keep the parking cost similar to the price of a pot of beer.

Acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood.

But Australian Hotels Association CEO Paddy O’Sullivan said the Melbourne pub industry average was $5.60 for a pot, compared to $7 for the proposed hourly parking fee.

The council will spend a record $576 million on community services, initiatives and capital works.

This includes $22.7 million to create open space at Southbank Boulevard and Dodds St, and almost $20 million for work on the Queen Victoria Market redevelopment project, such as preparing for a new park on the main car park site.

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@JMasanauskas