Paula Masselos returns as Waverley Mayor, Elaine Keenan as deputy behind Labor and Greens backing

By DANIEL LO SURDO

Incumbent Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos returned to her posting last night after support from fellow Labor councillors and the Greens helped to defeat Liberal challenger Will Nemesh for the mayoralty.

Cr Masselos achieved a majority through the support of the four Labor councillors (including herself) and Green Crs Dominic Wy Kanak, Elaine Keenan and Ludovico Fabiano. Cr Nemesh earned the votes of the Liberal caucus but was absent from the meeting and therefore unable to vote for himself, with Cr Sally Betts saying that “he may or may not be here depending on if he gets home from hospital”.

Cr Masselos reaffirmed the stance of council upon being reelected as mayor.

“We are committed to supporting our community and our local economy, and protecting our environment and neighbourhoods,” she said.

“We will be working very hard and fast to ensure that we can deliver as much as possible during our truncated term for the benefit of Waverley.”

Cr Keenan was re-elected as deputy mayor after similarly gaining the support of the Greens and the Labor caucus. The Greens councillor was voted as deputy mayor in 2019 along with fellow Lawson Ward representative Cr Masselos. The pair have led council throughout the pandemic, and hope that important work can continue to be achieved in the new term.

“Council is delivering the biggest capital works program in Waverley’s history,” Cr Masselos said.

“We have so much to be proud of and excited about including the restoration of Bondi Pavilion and the Boot Factory building, our path to net zero carbon emissions, the Bondi Memorial Project, the COVID-safe management of outdoor public spaces and our commitment to supporting local infrastructure.”

Cr Masselos also signalled her excitement to continue leading council alongside Cr Keenan, saying “I look forward to working with her and our progressive councillor colleagues for the benefit of our Waverley community”. Both councillors will hold the positions until 19 September 2023, when a new mayoralty and deputy mayoralty vote will occur.

Election Results

December’s Waverley elections forged no changes in party representation on council, with the five Liberal, four Labor and three Green elected councillors identical to the results from 2017.

Liberal councillor Angela Burrill joined Crs Masselos and Keenan in the Lawson Ward, to form the same representation as the previous term. The Liberal party amassed 43 per cent of votes, Labor received 27.4 per cent, and the Greens tallied 27.3 per cent.

Cr Keenan secured the final seat in the ward after tallying over 2,100 more votes than fellow candidate Charles Hunter.