Byron mayor candidates Labor’s Asren Pugh, Green Sarah Ndiaye in tight race for title as Michael Lyon falls short
Byron mayoral candidates from Labor and the Greens are racing for the title as sitting mayor Michael Lyon has fallen short amid a desperate fight to clear his name. Here’s the latest.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Byron mayoral candidates from Labor and the Greens are in a tight race for the title as sitting Mayor Michael Lyon has fallen short amid a desperate fight to clear his name in court.
Green candidate Sarah Ndiaye and Labor’s Asren Pugh are competing to become mayor of northern NSW’s Byron Shire electorate, home to globally renowned tourism gem Byron Bay.
Current Deputy Mayor Ms Ndiaye was leading at 34.67 per cent of the vote counted so far by the NSW Electoral Commission as of midday Monday, while sitting councillor Mr Pugh had 30.37 per cent.
Independent Mr Lyon – also chair of the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation, who is fighting domestic violence allegations in a Tweed court – had 17.30 per cent of the vote.
Mr Lyon was even outpaced by independent David Warth, who 17.66 per cent of the vote – to the surprise of the sitting mayor, as he expressed late on Saturday.
Ms Ndiaye was “absolutely not” claiming victory on Monday morning, but was closely watching the count tick up.
“Obviously it’s an anxious wait while we see the tally unfold, but I’m sure we’ll end up with a diverse and interesting council ready to tackle the challenges ahead,” she said.
“It could fall either way and I’m hopeful, but you just never know how it will fall.”
She said the Greens would have “three in council” but that “it would be great to have four or even five”.
Ms Ndiaye said the party’s achievements in the Local Government elections were incredible.
“Delta Kay has been elected and she’s the first Arakwal traditional owner and Bundjalung woman to be on council,” she said.
Ms Ndiaye said as mayor she would work to improve community infrastructure in the shire to help boost quality of life amid cost of living pressures.
“While council doesn’t have a lot to do with the amounts of money that ends up in the pockets of residents, the infrastructure we provide can improve people’s quality of life,” she said.
“So ensuring that our parks and amenities are fit for purpose, that people of all abilities can access the beach and other community assets.”
Ms Ndiaye said the council needed to be taking into account “people’s financial circumstances” and “do our best to keep rates as low as we can and encourage state and federal governments to do their bit for our community”.
Meanwhile, contender Mr Pugh said he was “absolutely not” conceding as he trailed slightly – and preferences would be the deciding factor.
“We’re still the underdogs and it’s still a long shot, but if we get enough of their preferences then we might be able to catch the Greens candidate,” he said.
“It’s quite frankly an amazing result – I’ve tripled my vote from the last election.”
“The Byron Shire is a Green stronghold, we were always the underdogs in this campaign.
“Yet we’ve managed to bring it down to preferences and the fact that I’m still in the race at all is an amazing result.”
If Mr Pugh is elected, he said easing cost of living pressures would also be front of mind for him.
Mr Pugh said he would support connecting Mullumbimby to the Rous water supply because building a new dam outside Mullumbimby, along with a plant and pipeline, would be expensive for residents.
“Spread across Byron Shire residents, it would cost $350 per year in additional water bill, or if it was just Mullumbimby residents, it would cost almost $2500 per year per house hold,” he said.
“That’s the kind of decision that I would make to reduce the cost and impact on households.
“So I’ll resist any attempts by the Greens to overturn that decision because we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis.”
Comment is being sought from Mr Lyon.
Got a news tip? Email Savannah.pocock@news.com.au
Originally published as Byron mayor candidates Labor’s Asren Pugh, Green Sarah Ndiaye in tight race for title as Michael Lyon falls short
Chip off the old block: Down syndrome no barrier for Jagger
Little Jagger Lemmon is loving the water thanks to his new buddy and swimming coach Chip Hanson. The pair, who both have Down syndrome, have an incredible bond.
Stars, suits and style on show at TAB Epsom Day
Colourful suits, fascinators, and party shirts dotted the massive crowds at Royal Randwick’s TAB Epsom Day – one of the biggest race days of the nine-week Sydney Everest Carnival calendar.