2014 Willoughby mayoral by-election
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The 2014 Willoughby mayoral by-election was held on 15 November 2014 to elect the mayor of Willoughby, a local government area in New South Wales, Australia. The by-election was held following the death of incumbent mayor Pat Reilly.
Although she finished in third place on first preferences, Independent Liberal candidate Gail Giles-Gidney won the by-election with 50.8% of the vote after preference distribution.[1]
Background
[edit]Pat Reilly death
[edit]On 21 January 2014, mayor Pat Reilly died following a short illness. He had been a councillor since 1987, served as mayor since September 1997, and became the first directly elected Willoughby mayor in 1999.[2][3]
Reilly's funeral was held one week later on 28 January, and was attended by around 1,000 people, including former prime minister Bob Hawke, then-federal treasurer Joe Hockey, and then-Willoughby MP (and future NSW premier) Gladys Berejiklian.[4]
Previous election results
[edit]Reilly had most recently been re-elected in 2012, where he defeated his only opponent, Stuart Coppock, with 53.3% of the vote.[5]
Candidates
[edit]10 candidates contested the by-election, including independent candidates with highly similar names − John C. Owen and John Owens.[6]
The Labor Party chose to endorse Independent Labor councillor Nic Wright as their candidate.[7]
Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot:
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | David Stickland | Willoughby East resident[8] | |
| Labor | Nic Wright | Naremburn Ward councillor | |
| Independent Liberal | James Flynn | West Ward candidate in 2012[7] | |
| Independent | John C. Owen | Former General Manager of Willoughby City Council[6] | |
| Independent Liberal | Tony Mustaca | West Ward councillor | |
| Independent | John Owens | Retired lawyer[6] | |
| Independent | Steven Willoughby | Naremburn resident[8] | |
| Independent Liberal | Stuart Coppock | Naremburn Ward councillor and 2012 mayoral candidate | |
| Independent Liberal | Gail Giles-Gidney | Sailors Bay Ward councillor | |
| Independent | Wendy Norton | Middle Harbour Ward councillor | |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Liberal | Stuart Coppock | 6,259 | 20.83 | −25.91 | |
| Independent Liberal | Tony Mustaca | 6,163 | 20.52 | +20.52 | |
| Independent Liberal | Gail Giles-Gidney | 6,144 | 20.45 | +20.45 | |
| Independent | John C. Owen | 5,036 | 16.76 | +16.76 | |
| Labor | Nic Wright | 1,950 | 6.49 | +6.49 | |
| Independent | Wendy Norton | 1,565 | 5.21 | +5.21 | |
| Independent | John Owens | 1,389 | 4.62 | +4.62 | |
| Independent Liberal | James Flynn | 673 | 2.24 | +2.24 | |
| Independent | David Stickland | 475 | 1.58 | +1.58 | |
| Independent | Steven Willoughby | 387 | 1.29 | +1.29 | |
| Total formal votes | 30,041 | 96.26 | +1.89 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,152 | 3.74 | −1.89 | ||
| Turnout | 31,193 | 68.74 | |||
| Notional three-candidate-preferred count | |||||
| Independent Liberal | Stuart Coppock | 7,771 | 35.04 | ||
| Independent Liberal | Gail Giles-Gidney | 7,421 | 33.47 | ||
| Independent Liberal | Tony Mustaca | 6,980 | 31.48 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent Liberal | Gail Giles-Gidney | 9,094 | 50.80 | +50.80 | |
| Independent Liberal | Stuart Coppock | 8,806 | 49.20 | +2.46 | |
| Independent Liberal gain from Independent | Swing | N/A | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Gail Giles-Gidney has beat Stuart Coppock by 288 votes in the Willoughby mayoral by-election". The Daily Telegraph. 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Mayor of Willoughby Pat Reilly dies". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 January 2014.
- ^ "Tributes pour in for Willoughby City Council Pat Reilly who has died after a short illness". Herald Sun. 21 January 2014.
He was elected Mayor of Willoughby City in September 1997, and in 1999 became the first popularly elected Mayor of Willoughby.
- ^ "Hundreds gather to pay respects to Willoughby Mayor Pat Reilly at Chatswood funeral". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2014.
- ^ "Willoughby City Council - Mayoral Election". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 13 September 2012.
- ^ a b c "John C Owen and John Owens hope Willoughby mayoral by-election voters will be able tell them apart". The Daily Telegraph. 20 March 2014.
- ^ a b "From seasoned councillors to a young liberal and Mr Willoughby, ten people are in the running to become Willoughby Mayor". The Daily Telegraph. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Candidates". Chatswood West Ward History. Archived from the original on 10 May 2024.
- ^ "First Preference Votes" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Distribution of Preferences report" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2023.