Mad Snake Cafe owner Sam Weston announced as City of Darwin Lyons ward councillor

A Darwin cafe owner has outlined his strategy to unite a troubled and divided City of Darwin council. See what the Mad Snake Cafe owner has planned in his new role.

Sam Weston has been confirmed as the new Lyons Ward councillor two weeks after the tightly fought by-election. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The newest Darwin councillor has promised to “not be a d — khead” as he prepares to take on a troubled and divided City of Darwin council.

Mad Snake Cafe owner and defence force veteran Sam Weston was confirmed as the new Lyons Ward councillor on Friday, two weeks after the tightly contested by-election following Paul Arnold’s resignation.

Cr Weston secured 53 per cent of preferences, narrowly pulling ahead of Greens candidate Suki Dorras-Walker

The independent candidate said he decided to run for council as a “frustrated” member of the community, and hoped his appointment would restore trust in Darwin’s leadership.

“I came in because I actually give a sh-t about the people,” Cr Weston said.

“I know people aren’t happy.”

“We need to start pulling our heads in and do what we’ve been elected to do.”

Sam Weston and Suki Dorras-Walker were the frontrunners to claim a seat on the Darwin city council Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The Mad Snake Cafe owner said he would remain “honest and transparent, which I think Lyons ward is lacking now”.

He said the public spat between the mayor Konstantine Vatskalis and Lyons Ward councillor Amye Un was “not a good look”.

Last month Council staff issued Cr Un a trespass notice, banning her from entering council buildings and facilities for a year after a code of conduct warning.

Cr Weston called it “extreme” to ban “the most harmless woman I’ve ever met”.

The new councillor said these internal personality spats and a lack of consultation had soured the council’s reputation.

“One of the points is people feel like they’re not listened to … they feel like these guys in council are making decisions without talking to any of us,” he said.

Cr Weston specifically called out the introduction of Saturday parking fees as an example of poor engagement, and said he would start meeting with small businesses every three months. 

“I don’t think I can change Saturday parking now, but now we need to give people a reason to come back into the city,” he said.

Mr Weston said as a councillor he would “sit down” with small business owners every three months and bring their ideas to council. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

Mr Weston said his aim was to revive some of the forgotten “dark and dingy” corners of Darwin, install more lighting and security cameras to address crime, and increase the number of family friendly events.

He said one of his first policies would be the revival of the Green Caffeen scheme, a cup-sharing program between Darwin cafes to reduce waste he launched in 2019.

He also proposed planting more trees around the city to cool it down and beautify the town — and chuckled at the suggestion of another shade structure.

“A lot of people said they want the city to be more green,” Mr Weston said.

Originally published as Mad Snake Cafe owner Sam Weston announced as City of Darwin Lyons ward councillor