Greens in pole position
The NSW Greens party will appear at the top of the City of Sydney councillors ballot on 13 September, while Labor will appear near the bottom of both councillors and lord mayoral ballots.
The ballot order for lord mayor will be Shayne Mallard for the Liberals, Clover Moore, Chris Harris for the Greens, Meredith Burgmann for Labor, and two ungrouped independents.
The parties’ council tickets will appear as Greens, Liberals, Clover Moore, independents, and Labor. Two independent candidates Ormond McDermott and John Cooper will also appear at the end.
Clover Moore campaigner Larry Galbraith said the traditional donkey vote wasn’t a significant factor in council elections because voters don’t need to number every box if they vote above the line.
The positions were drawn by a NSW Electoral Commission official last week with lord mayoral candidates Burgmann and Harris present.
Due to the unique high profile of the City of Sydney compared with other NSW councils also facing elections, the Commission did not let the council choose its own returning officer and installed an official of its own.
Voters will also be asked to consider electoral reform that would see the City of Sydney Council broken up into three wards of three councillors each.
Incumbent Lord Mayor Clover Moore said in a statement that she had a proud record of achievement and will deliver on Sustainable Sydney 2030.
Over the past four years, we’ve unified the amalgamated city, established a firm foundation for the future by creating a Council organisation that is well managed, financially prudent and engaged with our diverse communities, she said.
The remaining candidates have all focused on Moore as the key opponent to beat.
Make no mistake, ousting the Clover Moore Party will be tough, Burgmann said.
Liberal councillor Shayne Mallard said it was time for generation change and a new leadership for Sydney. He said his campaign’s four pillars would be restoring pride and confidence in Sydney, tackling street crime, a new approach to car ownership and budget responsibility. He compared Sydney to San Francisco, which he recently visited, and described its mayor as a greatly loved visionary -” as opposed to Moore.
Instead of offering a positive leadership for Sydney, Clover Moore has pursued her lifelong obsession with the politics of complaint and negativism, he said.
The reality is that Clover Moore and her team of Independents are the only viable option to lead a transparent and efficient City of Sydney. Her team has credibility and runs on the board. Her team of ten has two gay members. I would like to see the good work of this team continue in the stewardship of the council. Sydney has direction and a real sense of purpose. Vote Clover Moore Independents on September 13!!!
Chris Harris is all hot wind. What a complete waste of time he has been on council . He is best known as ‘four wheel driving councillor from Canada Bay ‘. Clover Moore is the best and most effective Lord Mayor Sydney has ever had.Efficient, hardworking and with a vision for Sydney. Go Clover !
The Greens are the only party that pushed SameSex Marriage Civil Union Bills into Parliament for FULL EQUALITY – NO EXCUSES, only to have the bills blocked by Labor & Liberal.
The Greens policy at every level of Govt is the same, Full Equality.
Kerry Nettle – Federal
Lee Rhiannon – State
Chris Harris – Council
First Class tax payers, second class citizens. Labor & Liberals are keeping SameSex equality on the back burner.
With 2 Greens Councillors on Sydney Council there can be a real Green perspective from a Green party that is consistent from Federal to Council.
Chris Harris represents Federal/State & Council. He was the NSW Greens Lead Delegate, last month, to the Greens National Council. He is also the NSW Greens Treasurer and a Green on Council.
Cover all bases Vote 1,2,3,4…. Green
The Clover Party has had its day.
LIB/LAB Party the same old corrupt gang.
The Greens are the only hope for the future of our city country and planet.
Good luck Chris and Irene.
We should be concentrating on getting representatives of political parties into council which support Same Sex Marriage and other LGBTI related issues like the Greens. We cannot assume that voting for Labor is the best option just because they are not Liberals. In my opinion the alternative parties such as the Greens are the best option. The Greens record on supporting the LGBTI community has been well known. We should be supporting the political parties which have unequivocally supported us over the years otherwise things will only get worse.