Ku-ring-gai Council overthrows long-time Mayor
Ku-ring-gai Council elected Cr Cedric Spencer as the new Mayor during a council meeting held on Tuesday, 21 September, less than three months before the next Council elections.
Two candidates nominated for the mayoralty at the meeting – Cr Jennifer Anderson, the incumbent, long-time Mayor, and Cr Spencer, who had been her deputy.
Unlike Hornsby Shire Council, the election of Ku-ring-gai’s Mayor is decided by a vote of councillors every two years.
The show-of-hands vote was a 5-5 split between Cr Anderson and Cr Spencer, highlighting the bitter divide the council has been experiencing in recent years.
It is not an uncommon sight to see a split vote on agenda items before the council.
Councillors Callum Clarke, Donna Greenfield, Martin Smith and Cheryl Szatow voted to maintain Cr Anderson’s grip on power.
Those councillors seeking change by voting for Cr Spencer were Councillors Jeff Pettet, Peter Kelly, Sam Ngai and Christine Kay.
Following the split vote, the Council’s General Manager, John McKee, along with scrutineers exited the Zoom meeting to prepare the draw by lot. Upon their return, Cr Spencer’s name was pulled from the box and declared duly elected as the
new Mayor.
He will fill the role until the Council elections on 4 December, 2021.
Cr Spencer, a local lawyer of English, Portuguese and Chinese heritage, has been a councillor since
2017 representing the Wahroonga ward. He lives in Pymble with his wife and son.
“It’s an important time for our community as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and I am proud to be leading our community at this time”, says Cr Spencer.
Following the mayoral vote, Cr Sam Ngai of the Roseville ward was elected as Deputy Mayor. This vote, like the mayoral vote, was hotly contested between the two feuding factions on the council.
Once again, there was a split vote for the election of Deputy Mayor between Cr Ngai and Cr Smith. Consequently, Cr Ngai’s name was drawn from a box and was declared elected.
With less than three months until the next election, Ku-ring-gai is a clearly divided council with question marks over its ability to continue functioning.
An interesting election awaits.
