Porteous tipped to take over

With Leichhardt Mayor Jamie Parker set to relinquish the role within weeks, having succeeded in his bid to win the seat of Balmain at the state election, Deputy Mayor Rochelle Porteous is tipped to become the new mayor of Leichhardt at an Extraordinary Council Meeting in May.

A meeting of Greens councillors in early May will confirm the party’s nominee to take over the mayoralty from Parker. Porteous, who represents the Eora/Leichhardt-Lilyfield Ward, is expected to get the nod.

Cr Parker said before the election he felt that should he be successful, to attempt both roles would be “too much” and would not allow for “the amount of focus needed”. The Greens control six of the twelve seats on Leichhardt Council, making it almost certain the eventual Greens nominee will win the mayoralty.

Cr Porteous is in her second term on Council, having originally been elected in 2004. Born and raised in Newcastle, she has lived in the Leichhardt LGA for over a decade. She has worked as a teacher, filmmaker and small business manager, and is fluent in Italian and Spanish. She also stood as the Greens candidate in Balmain at the 2007 state election, finishing second to Labor’s Verity Firth, scoring 46.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.