Greens councillor Emma Heyde has announced she will be running for Mayor at September’s upcoming council election. 

In challenging a currently Liberal controlled council, Heyde faces an uphill battle. 

The title has been held by members of the Liberal party since 2004, and Current Mayor Phillip Ruddock has held the role since 2017. The Greens are running 3 candidates alongside Heyde at this election and are hoping to win the numbers necessary to secure the council’s first ever Greens Mayor.

Elected to council at the last council election in 2017, Emma Heyde is proud of the impact she has been able to have in Hornsby over her first term. 

Working on issues like stopping land clearing in rural areas, and protecting Hornsby’s bushland areas and wildlife habitats, Heyde is determined to preserve the bushland and community that she believes makes Hornsby a great place to live. She has also worked on issues like stopping cats killing local wildlife and trying to get rebates for re-useable menstrual products. 

Outside of specific policies, Emma says one of her biggest objectives has been getting the community as involved in possible on council decision making. 

“I’m proud of efforts I’ve made to open up council to the community so it’s not just a noisy minority” Said Heyde.

You would expect that as a Greens councillor on a currently Liberal controlled council, Heyde would be constantly at odds with her opposition on council, but when asked about fellow councillors she is largely positive. 

“I really enjoy working co-operatively with people from all different walks of life and perspectives. There’s always been robust debate about issues and I think that’s healthy”.

Although they have obvious differences in their positions and outlook, there seems to exist a healthy respect and debate between the current councillors.

“In terms of councillor’s people on this council have generally tried to do the right thing and have generally treated their fellow councillors with respect, I think people are there for the right reasons. It’s been a very positive experience overall.” 

However, Heyde’s time on council has not been entirely harmonious. She recently criticised Mayor Phillip Ruddock for what she described as sexist behaviour towards a constituent during a council meeting, arguing that it demonstrated “why we need more women on council”. 

The Greens ticket for this election is looking to change that, fielding 2 other female candidates alongside Heyde to support her bid for Mayor. Tania Salitra is running as a candidate in Ward A, Monika Ball is running for Ward B and Tamannah Shah is running as a second Candidate in Ward C alongside Heyde.