Penrith’s current Deputy Mayor and 20-year Council veteran Mark Davies is among those suffering from the fallout of the Liberal Party nominations debacle.
The final nomination list has been revealed by the NSW Electoral Commission today and confirms that there are no Liberal candidates in South or East Ward for the forthcoming Local Government Election.
It came to light yesterday that the Liberal Party’s head office had failed to finalise nominations in time for a range of Councils across Sydney.
The debacle means that Davies, first elected to Council in 2004, will have his local political career halted prematurely.
Davies was to lead the South Ward ticket and would have almost certainly retained his place on Council.
“I’m totally dumbstruck, I just can’t believe that after 20 years and [being] the current Deputy Mayor that [I’ve] been taken out by an administrative problem,” Davies said.
“Totally unexpected [and it’s] something that’s totally from left field.
“Very disappointed and sad and [there’s] a bit of anger there but look in life sometimes these things come from left field and you move on.”
Marlene Shipley, a current Independent Councillor, was to lead the Liberal ticket in East Ward. Her name is also missing from the ballot paper.
“I am absolutely gutted and I’m very emotional to be honest,” Shipley told the Weekender today.
“…For two and a half years I worked alongside Tricia [Hitchen] knowing that [she] would be retiring at the upcoming election, she wouldn’t be contesting.
“She’s been mentoring me for the past two and a half years to move into her number one spot on the Liberal ticket [in the East Ward].
“We share the same values, and she seriously believed that I would be able to take over from her moving forward and represent [the] community but that’s not happened.”
There is some positive news for the Liberals with Ross Fowler’s nomination confirmed for North Ward.
The extraordinary blunder will result in Labor and independents holding the balance of power when the new Council is formed.
In East Ward, the Labor ticket is the only group on the ballot paper – meaning all five people on current Mayor Todd Carney’s ticket will be elected.
Carney’s number two on the ticket, Garion Thain today shared that he was grateful to have the opportunity to serve his community.
“I’m humbled to learn that I’ll likely become a Penrith City Councillor next month, joining Mayor Carney on East Ward,” Thain said.
“At the end of the day, it would have been better if this result was at the ballot box, not the ballot draw.
“Not only do I believe that in a democracy voters should have a choice, I also think with a lot of hard work we would’ve gotten enough votes to get over the line on September 14.
“There’s a few sitting Councillors who’ve been let down by their party and didn’t get a chance to be on the ballot, and while I think it raises some serious concerns about their party apparatus it’s not a knock on them personally, and I hope to see them again sometime in the future.
“Either way I’ve made a commitment to the suburbs of East Ward, where I grew up and still live today, and I look forward to working for them.
“The upshot is that I’m beyond grateful to have a chance to join Council with Mayor Carney and the rest of our fantastic East Ward team, and I promise that I’ll always put the interests of Penrith first.”
THE FINAL CANDIDATES
East Ward:
Todd Carney – Labor
North Ward:
Glenn Gardiner – Independent
Shafaq Jaffery – The Greens
John Thain – Labor
Ross Fowler – Liberal
Amanda Cardwell – Independent
South Ward:
Vanessa Pollak – Libertarian Party
Susan Day – Independent
Hollie McLean – Labor
The election will be held on September 14.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.