For the first time in Lions Bay history, two members of council have resigned in one term and Lions Bayers were due to head to the polls for another by-election earlier this year (the first was in May 2023).
This has raised questions about the mayor’s ability to lead. When popular councillor Marcus Reuter stepped down he said the council working environment was “toxic in the extreme” and cited “serious ethical breaches that have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars going down the drain”.
It is well known that the 2022 audit costs were $100,000+ over budget in large part due to the mayor’s “Finance Committee’s” missing minutes. Residents recently raised serious concerns about severely inflated staff and beach park project costs which are hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget.
The May 2023 By-election results were largely regarded as a referendum on Ken Berry’s performance as mayor after a disastrous first few months in office. Cllr. Cunliffe, who served on the previous council, was re-elected by a large margin over Tanya Cosgrave who, along with Cllr. Broughton, ran on the mayor’s slate in 2022. She was again not elected.
Former mayor Ron McLaughlin, who was not re-elected in 2022 by a margin of 18 votes, was acclaimed as councillor in this year’s by-election. The majority of the previous council is now back at the table.
