Of the remaining five seats on council, three went to Labor,
one to the Liberals and another to the Greens. With her casting vote as Lord
Mayor, the Clover Moore bloc has
maintained an outright majority at Town Hall ever since. But with Cr Kemmis
announcing her retirement earlier this year, speculation has turned to whether
Lord Mayor Moore can maintain the majority that has meant the Lord Mayor can
bypass the other parties. Of the remaining nine councillors elected in 2004,
none of the three Labor councillors is seeking re-election, although the lone
Green Chris Harris and Liberal Shayne Mallard are both standing again. Some
election observers believe the six incumbents will succeed in their bids for
re-election. Who wins the remaining four seats will decide who holds the
balance of power for the next four years. If Labor maintains its three seats,
relative newcomers Linda Scott (who
stood for State Parliament against Clover Moore
in 2004) and Belinda Comninos will sit on council. Running on the Labor ticket
at number three, 28-year-old Comninos moved from Western
Australia to Sydney
in 2003. She has a university degree in Australian modern history and has been
a Labor Party member for 10 years. If the Greens succeed in picking up a second
seat, Irene Doutney, a 60-year-old part-time staffer for Greens MLC Sylvia Hale, will assume office. Born in Kings Cross
and brought up in Surry Hills and Darlinghurst, this one-time Clover Moore supporter has witnessed big changes in
the inner city. “At a local level, I think one of the major issues will be
homophobia and anti-social behaviour in our entertainment precincts,” she
said. “Although I really believe the problems associated with alcohol in
the city are nowhere near as bad as they used to be,” she added.
“I’ve seen the Cross during the 1960s, when it was a no-go zone, where
bashings and gang fighting were the norm.” If the Liberals win a second
seat, local businessman Edward Mandla, who also failed in a bid to topple State
MP Moore two years ago, will join Shayne Mallard
at Town Hall. For Clover Moore’s
team to maintain control of Town Hall, Di Tornai will need to pick up Robyn Kemmis’ seat. Unknown to most city voters, the
Victoria Park resident is number five on the Clover
Moore Independent ticket. A consultant to strata
corporations, the political clearskin has identified Green Square as an important area.
“When my husband and I were looking to move into the inner city in 2002 we
were attracted by the possibilities that existed in the creation of an entirely
new hub at Green Square,”
she told The City News. Di Tornai declined to answer a series of questions from
community, business groups and readers of this paper, which were circulated to
all candidates (see page 7). Yet whether or not she wins office and gives the Clover Moore Independents outright control over all
council decisions will have less to do with her own profile and more to do with
the Lord Mayor’s ability to attract a majority of above-the-line voters on
September 13.
Source:
City News www.alternativemediagroup.com/ThreadView.aspx?tid=8372#post_8372