LIBERAL PATRICK CONOLLY IS MAYOR ONCE AGAIN WITH LABOR’S BARRY CALVERT AS DEPUTY MAYOR

The new Hawkesbury Mayor has just been elected by the new Council members at their first meeting after the December 4 election.

The new Mayor is the old Mayor – Patrick Conolly once again in the seat, this time until 2024, and his deputy is Labor’s Barry Calvert.

Cllr Conolly was the only one who put his hand up for Mayor, while Cllr Calvert was up for Deputy Mayor against independent Nathan Zamprogno who only got 2 votes, one of them his own. Shooters Party councillor Shane Djuric voted for Cllr Zamprogno.

Cllr Zamprogno, although sitting as a newly minted independent, is still a member of the Liberal Party but 4 Liberal councillors voted for a Labor deputy mayor rather than a Liberal colleague.

Those who voted for Cllr Calvert as Deputy Mayor were independent councillor Mary Lyons-Buckett, Labor’s Amanda Kotlash, Greens’ Danielle Wheeler, Liberal Paul Veigel, independent Les Sheather, Liberal Jill Reardon, Cllr Patrick Conolly, and Liberal Sarah Richards.

Cllr Zamprogno didn’t have a good evening. He has been Chairman of the Hawkesbury River County Council (HRCC) for 2 terms – the only councillor ever to achieve this – and yet this evening the former Liberal councillor – he’s still a Liberal Party member – was voted against by his fellow Hawkesbury councillors.

He was up against Cllr Kotlash, who was on the HRCC in its last term, Cllr Danielle Wheeler, and Cllr Eddie Dogramaci, for 2 places on the HRCC.

Councillors Kotlash and Wheeler were elected to the HRCC. Cllr Kotlash got 5 votes and Cllr Wheeler received 4, Cllr Zamprogno got 2 votes, and in a curious twist Cllr Dogramaci got zero votes, which means he didn’t even vote for himself.

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