Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery officially lodged his second tilt at the city’s top job on Thursday morning, confirming he will lead a ticket of three other candidates for the September 9 election.
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Speculation that the independent Cr Bradbery would run alongside other candidates has been rife for months, after he commented that he hoped to see other “quality independents” elected to council.
Widely tipped to win the lord mayorship again, Cr Bradbery announced that former Port Kembla Port Corporation CEO Dom Figliomeni, 61, would be second on his councillor ticket for Wollongong’s southern suburbs.
This means Mr Figliomeni will receive Cr Bradbery’s preferences if the Cr Bradbery is reelected as mayor.
Explaining his decision to run, the retired Mr Figliomeni said he had come across numerous issues facing Wollongong’s southern suburbs during his time at the port.
The Port Kembla resident said he would make his fast-changing home suburb one of his main focuses if he was elected councillor, and also said he was keen to stop any steep rate rises in the future.
“I also thought that you can’t really criticise unless you’re prepared to hop in the ring as well,” he said.
Third on the high-profile independent ticket is Primbee resident Terry Gallagher, 68, who runs the Dapto and Warrawong markets.
Once a 25-year member of the Labor Party, Ms Gallagher said she had been impressed by the rate of development and progress over the past six years.
“We need more progress, more housing, and my big baby will be Lake Illawarra – because that’s our jewel in the crown,” she said.
Clinical psychologist Donna Waters, 47, will be fourth on the ticket.
Nominations for all candidates close next Wednesday, August 9, at noon.
By Thursday afternoon only the Greens had lodged their full ticket in Wollongong.
In Shellharbour, eight independents have lodged nominations so far.
One of the tickets lodged – headed by current councillors John Murray and David Boyle – will be backed by Labor.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
