Ku-ring-gai council election, 2024

This council was amusing for it’s previous term that basically ended up in a stalemate at the end, some farcical events and effectively the disappearance of a faction at the election. The big change this time is a body called ‘Voices of Ku-ring-gai’ (VOK) with it’s Convenor, Kristyn Haywood, who ran as an independent for the corresponding state seat of Wahroonga at the 2023 NSW State Election. VOK mentions it will “…encourage new entrants who have strong ethical and environmental values to run…” so could be a big player in how this election turns out and may or may not be a vehicle for Kristyn to get elected. Looking at current Wards this far out, I’d say the following:
Comenarra Ward: Jeff Pettett (Retain) and Greg Taylor (Retain)
Gordon Ward: Barbara Ward (Retain) and open seat
Roseville Ward: Sam Ngai (Retain) and open seat
St Ives Ward: Martin Smith (Retain) and Christine Kay (Retain)
Wahroonga Ward: Open seats x2 (I was surprised with Cedric Spencer’s loss of vote at the last election, he may still hold on, just depends who nominates here).

The ones I’ve said retain had good vote returns last time and seem to have a strong media/community presence. Again, this could all change based on who VOK supports and if they get traction on their issues leading up to the election. Will be watching this one with interest again in September!

Most have of no chance of being re elected with potentially Christine Kay. Cedric Spencer and Greg Taylor being the only ones retaining their votes

This council has become a complete basket-case, especially with the vote to replace Jeff Pettett as mayor with Sam Ngai, only for Sam Ngai to have similar moves being made against him as well.

Currently, the two big issues facing KRG Council are over-development and the upgrades to the North Turramurra Recreational Area, a project that has seen objections from Spencer, Kay and G. Taylor.

Hawkeye would this so called ‘factional’ battle be similar to the one between Cedric Spencer and Jennifer Anderson previously?

@Yoh An it would appear to be the case. The original trigger was to try and block NTRA, but then Sam Ngai threw his support behind NTRA, before then stating to council that they had little chance of stopping the increased development

Density has really kicked off something fierce through KRG, with a number of corflutes posted around opposing any changes to density laws within the area.

Expect more and more activity to take place as candidates attempt to align based on this issue

IIRC there was a document prematurely released by the state government that had Roseville, Lindfield, and Killara marked as suburbs for densification.

The race for KRG has officially begun it seems… according to the FDC registers. Take these registers with a grain of salt, as they aren’t always 100% reflective of final candidates that nominate, but they give you a good idea.

First candidate to register for campaigning:

Gordon Ward – Indu Balachandran (No Affiliation Listed) Registered 3/4/24

Another candidate has registered for campaigning:

Wahroonga Ward – Jack Abadee (Liberal Party Affiliation) Registered 22/4/24

Jack Abadee could be a strong candidate here. Has previously run for the St Ives Ward. Likely has generated a personal vote from a continued community presence.

May update, with the first incumbent registering for campaigning:

Roseville Ward – Alec Taylor (No Affiliation List) Registered 13/5/24

Alec was elected in 2021 at the expense of Jennifer Anderson (former Mayor).

I’ve run into Jack Abadee 2/3 times out in the community. Seems like he would make a great addition

June Update: Some familiar candidates [Adrienne&Boru] who contested from 2021 are back for another run.

Current candidates registered for campaigning:

Wahroonga Ward – Jack Abadee (Liberal Party Affiliation) Registered 22/4/24

Comenarra Ward – Adrienne McLean (No Affiliation Listed) Registered 28/5/24

Gordon Ward – Indu Balachandran (No Affiliation Listed) Registered 3/4/24
Gordon Ward – Boru Tumulty (No Affiliation Listed) Registered 3/6/24

Roseville Ward – Alec Taylor (No Affiliation List) Registered 13/5/24

I can confirm some of the affiliations, although these are unofficial at a Council level:
Greg Taylor – Greens
Barbara Ward – Liberal
Sam Ngai – Liberal
Christine Kay – Liberal
Cedric Spencer – Liberal

Boru Tumulty has been incredibly active on Social Media, especially with his criticism of current councillors.

Cedric Spencer is attempting to bring all the North Shore NIMBY Votes in a new Coalition for himself, especially with NTRA.

Buru Tumulty goes by the name of Michael Tumulty

There’s been some quite vitriolic social media recently.
One wonders whether it is better to enter the fray and take the slings and arrows thrown your way or stay out of it and remain more in the wings but then potentially also less well-known.
It would be great to have a couple of old-fashioned town hall debates so people could get to know the candidates, but there’s just no one with the time or inclination to host these events anymore.

The Post hosted a meet the candidate session for KRG Council. The most notable piece from that was then-Mayor Cedric Spencer boycotting the event.

Ooh I need to go through The Post’s website to add to my candidate list.

One of the interesting developments here is the Greens running in Roseville Ward. This competes with the movement backed by ‘Voices of Ku-ring-gai’ with their leader, Kristyn Haywood, running in Wahroonga Ward. (She contested the seat of the same name at the 2023 NSW State Election.) With Kim Wheatley re-contesting in Wahroonga, I can see Credric as the one most likely to loose out here.

Here is the full run-down of candidates for KRG (In Order):
Comenarra Ward:
Group A – Clr Jeff Pettet (with Helen Easton) – Jeff Pettet is Formerly Liberal Democrats
Group B – Matthew Devlin (with Beth Scott)
Group C – Clr Greg Taylor (with Scarlett Ingham) – This is a pseudo-Greens Ticket
Group D – Adrienne McLean (with Dale Crosby) – aligned with Cedric Spencer
Group E – David Taylor (with Catherin Weinress)

Gordon Ward:
Group A – Jennifer Anderson (with Michelle Key) – This is significant, as Jennifer was previously a councillor in Roseville Ward, before she was beaten by Sam Ngai and Alec Taylor
Group B – Clr Barbara Ward (with Anthony Ching) – Barbara Ward has worked for Scott Farlow MLC (not sure if she is still there) and is very much aligned with Cedric Spencer
Group C – Clr Simon Lennon (with Julia Eagles)
Group D – Michael Tumulty (with Luis Almenara)
Group E – Yukun Song (with Ji-Sook Kim and Ya Dong Liu)
Group F – Indu Balachandran (with Johanna Pitman)

My Predictions:
Comenarra Ward – Clr Jeff Pettet and Clr Greg Taylor (Status Quo)
Gordon Ward – With Jennifer Anderson running, this seat becomes a lottery, with Simon Lennon under the most pressure
Roseville Ward – Clr Sam Ngai and the race will be on between Alec Taylor and Sam Ngai getting his running mate over the line
St Ives Ward – Clr Martin Smith and Clr Christine Kay
Wahroong Ward – This is a complete lottery but Clr Cedric Spencer will be the one under most pressure. I think there are too many options for him to survive.
Group G – Sara Winn (with Gavin Burton)

Roseville Ward:
Group A – Clr Sam Ngai (with Kathryn Johnson) – Was a big Cedric Spencer supporter, but then broke away when he became Mayor
Group B – Clr Alec Taylor (with Diedre Bhomer)
Group C – Caroline Kennedy (with Robyn Thomas) – Formally running as The Greens

St Ives Ward:
Group A – Clr Martin Smith (with Leigh Falinski)
Group B – Clr Christine Kay (with Michael French)
Group C – Andrew Cheng (with Lisa Elliott)

Wahroonga Ward:
Group A – Kristyn Haywaood (with Julian Sayyadi) – Backed by Voices of KRG. Possible Teal Group
Group B – Clr Cedric Spencer (with Wendy McKasah and Tony Pang)
Group C – Clr Kim Wheatley (with Jennifer Rufati)
Group D – Jack Abadee (with Reid Brown) – Newcomer onto the scene. Current Young Liberal and probably one of the more impressive candidates I have seen
Group E – Jaimie Gordon (with Sheridan Evans)

Oh Dear. Looks Like Cedric Spencer’s Ticket is in a bit of strife…

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/is-a-husband-a-close-associate-council-hopeful-caught-out-on-property-developer-declaration-20240816-p5k2xu.html

Anyone think that Labor and the Greens have a chance of picking up a Councilor?

Interesting to note that Jeff Pettett has registered 4 How-to Vote Cards,
One where he gave no preferences,
One where he preferenced David Taylor’s Group
One where he preferenced Matt Devlin’s group
And one where he preferenced the ungrouped Parsia Abedini (Labor)
Is he trying to see if any of them would reciprocate?

@GG that’s quite interesting. Is this registered on the NSWEC website or just on his campaign pages? Could you provide the link please.

There’s another week for material to be registered, so it’ll be interesting to see who respond with counter preferences.

@Politics_Obsessed
https://htvdisplay.elections.nsw.gov.au/app/lge/council/Ku-ring-gai
I note that Jeff no longer has the HTV where he preferences Labor, potentially because Labor put out their own HTV which didn’t preference Jeff.