What a couple of weeks! I was elected to Council in sixth spot and have not stopped learning since.
The weekend following the election we new councillors had 2 full days (9am - 4pm) of inductions/training. This weekend we have had another full day on Saturday. In October we have 4 full days lined up. There are numerous evening briefing sessions marked in the calendar. It's all go, go, go.
The Council has also met to choose its Mayor and Deputy Mayor. These decisions presented me with some real difficulties, some hard questions. For instance, could I, as a 'greenie' support a Liberal candidate for Mayor over a Labor candidate? This decision became easier once I spoke to the two candidates and put things into a historical perspective.
Kellie Marsh is not an old time Liberal. Traditional Liberals believe in low taxes (or rates), few services and a devil-take-the-hindmost attitude. Kellie is not in this mould. She is employed, and volunteers, in the area of youth disadvantage. She spends most of her time supporting, for little or no pay, the most vulnerable members of our community.
Marianne Saliba is not old time Labor. When I used to be a member of the ALP, people gained office through their works in the community - either through working in blue collar jobs or volunteering in their field of interest. Marianne has worked as an electorate officer to a Labor politician and has been supported by Sussex St (via the N40 rule) into Parliament. Her campaign manager for Council was David Hamilton.
I was told by an impeccable 'inside' source that if I did not support Cr Saliba for Mayor, the ALP would not stand a candidate for Deputy Mayor. This was apparently an attempt to scare me into voting for the ALP as that was the only way I would have my preferred outcome of the two top positions on Council being filled by the major Parties. This information actually reinforced my view of the ALP. The all-or-nothing attitude is something that I find quite unattractive.
Once I had decided that I would support Cr Marsh for Mayor, I allowed my name to go forward for Deputy Mayor. If the ALP did not want that job, I did not want the Liberals to have both top positions. Once Cr Saliba's nomination for Deputy was read out, I was always going to support her even though I had the numbers. The outcome of both Labor and Liberal in the top jobs is an ideal outcome for the community, in my opinion.
Now it is up to we Councillors to make it work.
