Meet The LGBT Candidates For The City of Sydney Council 

Meet The LGBT Candidates For The City of Sydney Council 

On December 4, the City of Sydney, along with 123 councils will hold elections for councillors and mayors across NSW.

The Star Observer reached out to all groups participating in the City of Sydney Council Elections and asked if their LGBTQI candidates would like to participate in the Star Observer LGBTQI Candidate Profile. 

Mark Smith – Greens

Mark Smith

Mark Smith, a resident of Darlinghurst, is number five on the Greens’s ticket. 

Smith chose to represent the Greens because he believes they are a progressive voice that has led the discussion around LGBTQI rights and housing affordability. 

By the end of his first term, he would like to see the Greens’s proposal on affordable housing implemented and ensure that Oxford Street’s LGBTQI heritage is protected and not “sacrificed to developers.”

Smith shares, “My partner and I met at the Burdekin at a friend’s birthday party in 1999 and started our relationship on the dancefloor at Stonewall. We marched for LGBTQI rights at Taylor Square, watched the floats pass by in Mardi Gras after Mardi Gras and recently we celebrated marriage equality when the community took the streets when the results were announced.  Like me, our community’s history is inexplicably linked to this iconic street.”

One thing about Mark Smith that people are surprised to hear: “Politically many people are surprised that I am a founder and owner of a recruitment company based in Sydney…I really want to smash the stereotype that you cannot be in business and progressive. You can own a business and not be conservative!” 

 

Richard Hicklin – Liberal

Richard Hicklin

 

Richard Hicklin, a resident of Ultimo, moved to Sydney in 2013 and is fifth on the Liberal Party’s ticket. Hicklin is a market researcher focusing on healthcare and consumer markets and they have a background in law.
By the end of their first term they would like to see, “Sydney’s arts, culture, and business thrive,” adding that his focus would be the revitalisation of Oxford Street ahead of World Pride.
One thing about Richard Hicklin that people are surprised to learn: “I enjoy learning languages, and am currently learning Mandarin and Italian. I also have spent time volunteering in Vietnam teaching English.”

Mark Hodge – Unite for Sydney 

Mark Hodge

Mark Hodge, a resident of Sydney for over 30 years, is number six on the Unite for Sydney Team ticket. He has spent 30 years as a professional dancer and choreographer and 17 years on stage, performing in such shows as Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Singin’ in The Rain, and Equus. He is currently the owner of a short stay rental business, operating across Australia.

He chose to represent the Unite for Sydney Team to restore “Sydney back to a vibrant community-based place to be.”

By the end of his first term, he would like to see Sydney become a more vibrant city and a more attractive destination for tourism and business. “Being able to have a collective of arts and business heads mull decisions on what is best for the city of Sydney in being able to establish its place on the world map of interesting, desirable destinations to once [again] visit,” Hodge says.

One thing about Mark Hodge that people are surprised to hear: “The extent of my background in theatre and the places I have worked all over the world. It’s not something I speak about unless people ask but I usually find they are quite shocked to know what I have done in my previous life before running a business.”

 

Adam Worling – Clover Moore Independent Team

Adam Worling

Adam Worling has lived in the City of Sydney for 35 years in Redfern, Surry Hills and Kings Cross. He is number six on the Clover Moore Independent Team ticket. Besides running for council, Worling runs his own PR agency.

He chose to represent the Clover Moore Independent Team because of Clover Moore’s long-time support and advocacy of the LGBTQI community. 

Worling stresses that “When our community was in the fight for our lives with AIDS in the mid 80s and onwards, Clover was there fighting beside us and for us in government.” 

By the end of his first term, he would like to be part of the revitalisation of Oxford Street. “I am very optimistic that this area will thrive again,” Worling says. 

One thing about Adam Worling that people are surprised to hear: “That I have no hearing in one ear. It comes with its challenges as all sounds enters my head from the left. [Try] finding a plane in the air by the sound only! Or worse, when someone yells out to you in the street – Yes, but where are you?” 

 

Mike Galvin – Clover Moore Independent Team

Michael Galvin

Mike Galvin, a resident of Darlinghurst, is number seven on the Clover Moore Independent Team ticket. Galvin is the Vice President of the Surry Hills Business Partnership Board. 

Homelessness, bullying, educating the public on Trans equality and LGBTQI workplace inclusion are issues close to Galvin’s heart.

He explains, “I was terribly bullied in high school, and whilst that was many years ago, it still haunts me, those taunts stay with you forever. Funnily enough, I was hit on by one of the bullies in a gay bar not long after I left school. It appears I wasn’t the only gay in the village.” 

One thing about Mike Galvin that people are surprised to hear: “I was a regular for many years at the Jonny Young Talent School as a teenager, learning tap dancing, singing, drama and jazz. It never got me anywhere career wise, but I do love some lounge room disco and busting out some moves at Palms on Oxford and Stonewall.” 

 

Ian Roberts – Labor Party

Ian Roberts

Ian Roberts is a resident of Kings Cross and is number seven on the Labor Party ticket. He played Rugby League, including five State of Origin series. 

Homelessness is the most important issue to Roberts, and he often highlights that LGBTQI people are at a much higher risk of homelessness suicidal ideation than their heterosexual counterparts.

Roberts states, “It is unfathomable to me that in a rich and prosperous country like ours, and in a city that claims to be open and progressive, that we have people unnecessarily living rough!” 

By the end of his first term, he would like to see the development and hopefully the completion of an LGBTQI space or museum.

One thing about Ian Roberts that people are surprised to hear: “That I’m still involved with and work for the NRL, in player and club-level staff wellbeing.”

 

Elaine Czulkowski – Clover Moore Independent Team

Elaine Czulkowski

Elaine Czulkowski, a resident of Kings Cross since 2002, is number eight on the Clover Moore Independent Team ticket. Besides running for council, Czulkowski works for an LGBTQI not-for-profit. 

Czulkowski has worked on Clover Moore’s campaigns in the past and chose to represent the Clover Moore Independent Team ticket because she has seen the “amazing transformation that has happened in our glorious city,” including the increase in green spaces, social housing, and public amenities.

By the end of her first term, she would like to see the amount of people living on the street greatly reduced.  “We are a very wealthy city in a very wealthy country, and we can do so much more,” Czulkowski says.

One thing about Elaine Czulkowski that people are surprised to hear: “I used to manage a couple of punk rock bands back in the late 70s and also went on tour with Deep Purple and 10cc.”

 

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