I?d like to thank the residents of Roseville Ward for asking me to serve them as a councillor for a third term.
It was an incredibly hectic three weeks and this election campaign would not have been possible without the support of volunteers. We appreciate all of you who were willing to dedicate time to the cause, whether it be half an hour or a few dozen hours, and I will be coming to thank each of you personally in the weeks to come.
With counting still underway, our group total is approximately 63% on first preference. Historically, approximately 20% of votes are actually below the line so what that means is that Alec Taylor still has a chance of getting elected with the check count and distribution of preferences, or it could be Kath Johnson. It is too early and not appropriate to jump to any conclusion.
The full election result is not yet known, with ballots still being counted and some postals still coming in til 27th September. We actually won?t know who the ten councillors are until the distribution of preferences on the week commencing 30th September. Until then, the only councillors that I am certain of at this stage are Martin Smith (St Ives first pref 45%), Christine Kay (St Ives first pref 35%), and Cedric Spencer (Wahroonga first pref 30%). If I had to speculate, we may also have Matt Devlin, Jeff Pettett, Kim Wheatley, Barbara Ward, and Indu Balachandran but the preferencing could produce a different outcome.
Each of the ten future councillors were elected on a particular platform or set of objectives, and I look forward to working with them to see if most of these can be delivered in a collegiate manner (noting that some objectives are directly conflicting).
I would like to thank Kath Johnson for being an amazing running mate. I chose Kath Johnson because she has a relatively unique combination of competency, maturity, and willingness to serve but without the ego or wackiness that usually comes with aspiring politicians. I wanted a normal person that residents can relate to, and Kath is one of them.
As a Christian, I would also like to thank God for the election result. As some of you know, last decade I was actually training to become an Anglican Church minister and serving the local community through the church. I never really expected to become a politician, but had at the spur of the moment in 2017 wondered whether my commercial skills could be applied to serving the community in a different way as a councillor. My Christian values guide my approach and there is a stronger emphasis on seeking the interests of others than on promoting myself.
Finally I’d like to thank my long-suffering wife Kathryn Ngai and our three kids for putting up with this election campaign. It’s been a tough few weeks with the election, and Kathryn has had to juggle a lot in my absence. In the coming three weeks before the councillors are sworn in on 8th October, I?ll be spending a good chunk of time with family including some time taking care of our seven month old on Parental Leave Pay (thanks to the Federal Government for offering this, though I was far too busy as Mayor to claim the 10 available days).
The upcoming Council will have to hit the ground running.
In addition to Councillor induction, we have the immediate priority of seeking public feedback on alternative scenarios to the NSW Government?s Transport Oriented Development while simultaneously progressing with the legal action (to buy time and save ratepayers millions on acquisition costs).
We will also be renewing our Community Strategic Plan which, as per the General Manager?s Performance Agreement, must be a genuine overhaul of the document with input from over 1,500 residents rather than the usual document rollover with minor tweaks.
In the early months, the General Manager is also required to overhaul the Community Participation Plan and the Community Engagement Policy.
I am also keen to explore what mid-value (a few $m) services/infrastructure the ward councillors are keen to deliver to improve the quality of life in their area, whether it be footpaths, traffic upgrades, the maintenance of council tree branches and roots, new community facilities and parks, as well as the multiple options available for funding these.
There is also the issue of community facilities in Lindfield, Gordon and Turramurra. Council staff are preparing updated financials for hubs in light of the population uplift, and I hope that we can move quickly on all three of these without unnecessary squabbling. Marian Street Theatre is in a similar position.
As usual, if you have any queries as residents then feel free to contact us and we will do what we can to help you.
