Marianne Saliba has been re-elected as the Mayor of Shellharbour, with councillors voting her in 6-1 at their first meeting of the new term.
Cr Saliba has been confident of securing the mayoral vote since the results of the election were declared, as four ALP members were elected to council.
Independents Kellie Marsh and Peter Moran nominated Cr Moran for the mayoral position, however, this did not go to a vote after all councillors but himself voted fro Cr Saliba.
The new Labor powerhouse chose not to exert its power over the Deputy Mayor vote, instead backing newly independent councillor Cr Marsh (who did not renew her Liberal Party membership ahead of the election).
Cr Marsh was uncontested for deputy and was elected without a vote, as two other undisclosed nominations were withdrawn before the meeting.
Ahead of the meeting, Cr Saliba said she was confident her Labor colleagues would support an independent.
“We want to send a clear message to the community that we are prepared to work with all the people who were elected,” Cr Saliba said.
“We don’t want people to feel that it’s a Labor take over and I contacted all councillors to make sure they knew that.”
She also said she had worked closely with Cr Marsh in fighting off the NSW Government’s merger and believe the pair would work well leading the council.
Also at the meeting, councillors took an oath or affirmation to undertake their duties as a councillor in the best interest of their residents.
They also decided the appointees for a long list of council committees, which govern projects like the Civic Centre, Regional Airport and various other advisory groups.
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.
