Female fare in race for lord mayor

BY ROJE ADAIMY

Two of the state’s most prolific female politicians will go head-to-head in the race for Sydney’s top job, following the last-minute withdrawal of Labor’s number one mayoral candidate.
Current Deputy Lord Mayor Tony Pooley pulled out of the race on Monday night, after telling Labor party officials that he was unable to continue working at the City of Sydney, while holding his full-time position as senior advisor to the NSW Minister for Disability Services, Kristina Keneally.
Cr Pooley dismissed reports that he had stepped down in admission of a pre-election defeat, and said that there was no internal poll to suggest he would almost certainly lose to Clover Moore.
“The most awkward thing was that it took me a month to make up my mind,” Cr Pooley told The City News. “But we’re still four months out from the election, the campaign hasn’t really started, and it just became apparent to me that I couldn’t manage everything.”
The incumbent Lord Mayor Clover Moore will now face the former president of the NSW upper house and left-wing Labor member, Dr Meredith Burgmann, in the September elections.
Dr Burgmann confirmed with The City News that she was nominated by the ALP unopposed at a meeting on Tuesday.
She said that the sudden decision came as a complete “shock” when Cr Pooley called to advise her on Monday night, but was quick to use it in her favour.
“I think Tony pulling out because he recognised that he just couldn’t do it with having a full-time job shows that what we’ve been saying about Clover, thinking that she can be Lord Mayor and an MP at the same time,” Dr Burgmann said.
While she didn’t rate her chances of becoming the ALP candidate in an interview with The City News last month, she now believes that she is a better fit among the left-wing constituency than Cr Pooley might have been.
“We will run a progressive, inner-city Labor campaign ‘ very different to the rest of the Labor party,” she said. “It will be a much more left-wing team and more in tune with the inner-city than perhaps the State or even the Federal Labor Party.”
However, some residents have already raised concerns about Dr Burgmann’s lack of local government experience, including the Potts Point and Kings Cross Heritage Conservation Society.
The remaining spots on the Labor party’s ticket at the City of Sydney council election will be decided next weekend at preselection. Candidates include the editor of South Sydney Herald, Trevor Davies, locals Jo Holder and Linda Scott, who will each chase a position as a councillor.
Meanwhile, other mayoral candidates, including current Liberal Councillor Shayne Mallard, acknowledged the contribution of Cr Pooley to the City after having worked alongside him for the last eight years.
“I would like to put on record my appreciate of Cr Pooley’s service to the local community on the City of Sydney Council and prior service on the South Sydney Council as mayor,” Cr Mallard said in a statement. “Tony has been a dedicated local representative who has worked very effectively on behalf of residents. It is a shame that we will lose his experience after September.”
Clover Moore’s office did not respond to calls from The City News requesting a comment.