03/11/2021
News update:
Nominations are in for Council as electors get a choice of up to eight groups
Around 50,000 North Sydney Council voters face a competitive choice come December 4 with seven groups contesting five councillor positions in the northern St Leonards Ward and eight groups contesting five positions in the southern Cammeraygal Ward.
Eight of the current ten councillors are contesting this election, albeit with one, Tony Carr, in a virtually unwinnable position. Independent Kathy Brodie and Liberal Democrat Sam Gunning are not running again, according to nominations published by the NSW Electoral Commission tonight.
The notable aspect of this election is that all candidates are running as part of five-member tickets: this allows their tickets to be featured “above the line” on the ballot paper, enhancing both their brand and preferred preference flows.
The southern Cammeraygal ward covers the areas east of Bay Rd, Waverton and West St, North Sydney and south of Falcon St and Military Road. The northern St Leonards ward covers areas west and north of this line respectively.
Mayor Jilly Gibson is heading an eponymous Team Jilly ticket and based on past performance will be favoured to gain the first of five councillor positions in the southern ward. Her daughter and fellow councillor, Dr Alanya Drummond, heads the Team Jilly ticket in the north ward.
With Gibson’s personal popularity winning her 40% of the mayoral vote four years ago, Team Jilly likely has the best chance of winning a second quota and thus, a second elected councillor. Running mates John Lepouris and Hugo Bauer have strong profiles in their own rights, for example, Lepouris runs the Against the Grind cafe in Neutral Bay and is the most prominent local small business owner in the contest.
Former deputy mayor Stephen Barbour is heading the North Sydney 1st ticket in the north ward, with the group emphasising its Liberal party affiliations while short of an official endorsement. High profile candidate Sophie Winton is heading the group in the south ward. A key aspect of their platform is their claimed ability to exert more influence on other levels of government to achieve better outcomes.
The Liberal connections of the group are being emphasised this time in light of the party’s self-evident popularity at state and federal levels and a perception that the Liberal Democrats exploited a vacuum left by the Liberals four years ago when the libertarian rival won over 10% of the vote and a council spot. North Sydney 1st also features two former councillors in supporting positions: Veronique Marchandeau and Richard Pearson.
Sitting councillors Ian Mutton and Jessica Keen are heading the Community 1st group in the south and north wards respectively. They are running on themes such as more transparency and rigour in council affairs. Mutton is also developing a plan for a New York style Highline on the Lavender Bay rail siding while Keen is emphasising issues around transport and traffic, more green spaces and Covid recovery.
Sitting councillors Zoe Baker and Maryann Beregi are also running in the north and south wards, under the moniker The Real Independents. Baker was second only in popularity to Gibson last time round, topping her ward vote and placing second in the mayoral elections. They have said little to date about their election platform but the two have a long-established profile on Council. They are perceived as the most oppositional to the current regime. Sitting councillor Tony Carr is on the north ward ticket but appears to be placed last and thus is unlikely to be reelected. The Real Independents are the only team yet to be profiled by North Sydney Sun and we will aim to rectify this in coming weeks.
There are also some newcomers. Local tech entrepreneur James Spenceley is heading a ticket in the north ward and is allied with Elle Provest who is heading a ticket in south ward. Provest is best known as the convenor of several local Facebook groups with thousands of members. They are considered most likely of the challengers to gain election, courtesy of their existing profiles and expertise with modern digital media techniques.
Labor is running an endorsed ticket in both wards, headed by Godfrey Santer and Shannon Welch. Santer is a former tourism commission executive and local businessman while Welch is a former nurse who has burnished her community credentials through campaigns to save hospitals and improve local sporting facilities. Labor is running on traditional themes such as environmentalism but also some more unorthodox platforms: it wants to transform North Sydney into a nightlife centre and encourage Council to facilitate business development rather than simply regulate it.
The Sustainable Australia Party, which has a relatively strong local membership, is also running full tickets in both wards. Lead candidates William Bourke and Georgia Lamb are running on a sustainable environment platform but are also the most overtly resistant to over-development and a planning process which they allege is effectively corrupt. They are the wild cards in this election in the absence of any other outright Green candidates, especially at a time when climate change issues are being brought to the fore at state and federal level.
Finally, comes the campaign of independent James Mullan, a young candidate in his 20s who was the first to announce his candidacy for Cammerygal Ward early this year and has run a strong grassroots campaign based on his advocacy for better community and professional sporting facilities. He has also revealed himself as particularly adroit at seizing the zeitgeist, identifying closely with the current push to revive the North Sydney Bears at NRL level as well as mounting a strong guerilla marketing effort, for example, publishing a novel video where he identified the strong points of rival candidates.
The two wards have around 25,000 voters each but with only two-thirds expected to vote, the quota required to gain election could trend as low as just 3,000 votes.
With no direct election for mayor this time, candidates are emphasising their teams and ability to work with others. The ten elected councillors will elect one of their number as mayor in early January. Incumbent mayor Jilly Gibson is the only candidate to date who has directly indicated she wishes to serve in the position in the next term. However, it could be taken as given that other group leaders would hold aspirations to become mayor should the numbers work for them come January.
Nominations closed on Wednesday and it is possible but not probable that there may still be more candidates to be revealed as the Commission confirms incoming paperwork.
