Clover Moore Sydney lord mayor, news husband family salary twitter
Moore's first three years: 75-year-old woman If re-elected mayor, Clover has promised to serve the entire term.
If re-elected as Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore has pledged to serve the full term, and says her replacement will be a part of her council ticket this year.
The 75-year-old pointed out that by the time the election takes place in September – which has been postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic – she would have essentially completed a year of her tenure.
She said, "We're well and truly into the job." When asked if this meant she would remain mayor until the next election in 2024, she replied, "Oh yes."
It will be 17 years after Cr Moore was elected lord mayor in 2004 on March 27. She was also the state MP for Bligh, later renamed Sydney, at the time, a role she held until 2012, when she was forced to choose between the two by the state government.
Cr Moore is seeking re-election to a record fifth term in office. If she succeeds, she would have served longer than Robert Menzies as Prime Minister or Joh Bjelke-Petersen as Queensland Premier.
Cr Moore dismissed criticism from rivals and predecessor Frank Sartor that she had been in the role for too long in an interview with The Sun-Herald.
“Every year, we try something new,” she said. “Has any of those people brought fresh, fantastic ideas?” she asked, noting that Sydneysiders have seen seven state premiers and seven changes of prime minister in the period she has been lord mayor.
Since her election, Cr Moore has had a stranglehold on control, holding a majority on council and gaining more than half of the vote.
At least two seasoned women will run against her this year: Kerryn Phelps, a doctor and former Moore supporter, and Linda Scott, a long-serving Labor councillor.
Last weekend, Cr Scott declared her candidacy, adding that she was not running to "settle old scores," a direct reference to the rivalry between Cr Moore and Cr Phelps.
When asked if she was running again to keep Cr Phelps out, Cr Moore replied, "It's about not derailing the work we're doing."
Cr Moore, a staunch supporter of inner-city living, expressed confidence that the City of Sydney would recover from the pitfalls of COVID-19, which caused commuters to work from home and stay in their suburbs, deadening CBD streets and wreaking havoc on local businesses.
Cr Moore said her replacement as head of the Clover Moore Independent Team would most likely be on her council ticket this year, but she wouldn't rule out running again in 2024. Councillors Jess Scully (deputy mayor), Philip Thalis, Robert Kok, and Jess Miller are currently on that team, and the ticket will include more names.
“Who I pass the baton to is critical... it has to be the team, and it has always been the team,” she said.
Cr Moore had been in the role for "way too long," according to Mr Sartor, who served as lord mayor for 12 years from 1991 to 2003.
“In politics, too, the rule of diminishing returns applies. “None of us are indispensable, and if we believe we are, we are delusory,” Mr Sartor said.