Susan Wynne returns as Woollahra Mayor, Isabelle Shapiro elected as Deputy

Susan Wynne returns as Woollahra Mayor, Isabelle Shapiro elected as Deputy

By DANIEL LO SURDO

Woollahra Council has welcomed an all-female, all-Liberal mayor and deputy mayor tandem this month as Susan Wynne and Isabelle Shapiro were voted to the respective postings following the party’s success at the December local elections, whereby its majority was held in the fifteen-seat council chamber.

Challenging Cr Wynne for the mayoralty was Greens councillor Matthew Robertson, who was defeated behind the Liberal bloc, whose eight votes outlasted the seven from the Residents First Woollahra and Greens councillors, who backed Cr Robertson for the position.

Cr Wynne, who first held the mayoralty in September 2019, will now continue in the posting until September 2023.

“It is an honour and a privilege to continue serving Woollahra as Mayor. I am looking forward to working with councillor Isabelle Shapiro as Deputy Mayor and all the councillors,” Cr Wynne said.

“This role comes with great responsibility and I remain committed to working with our community in ensuring Woollahra is a wonderful place to live, work and visit.”

Cr Shapiro defeated Greens councillor Nicola Grieve in the deputy mayoralty by nine votes to six, with Cr Harriet Price (Residents First Woollahra) the only non-Liberal councillor to support Cr Shapiro.

Council General Manager Craig Swift-McNair called the result “another significant achievement”, saying that “our elected representatives is a clear indication of the progressive nature of Woollahra’s residents”.

“We have a proud history as a progressive council, from our leadership on climate change, to our strong support of the arts and longstanding local disability and mental health initiatives, and 50 per cent women on our executive team,” Mr Swift-McNair said.

“Our councillors have an exciting opportunity to work with residents and businesses to make a real difference in Woollahra, and I look forward to working with them in continuing to build and support an even more thriving local community.”

The new term of council sees four new elected representatives welcomed to the chamber and 10 of the 15 seats occupied by females, the highest number of female councillors in NSW. It comes as the nearby Randwick Council welcomed their first female majority on council, while also having a female general manager on council.

Election fallout

At the December elections, the makeup of the Woollahra Council chamber did not undergo any major shifts as the representation of each party remained the same. The Liberal party kept its eight seats, Residents First Woollahra maintained five seats while the Greens won two.

Crs Wynne and Shapiro will both hold their terms until September 2023, with the newly-elected council to serve until 2024.

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