Parramatta elects Labor mayor after councillor defects from Liberals

A Parramatta councillor who defected from the Liberal Party hours before a vote on the city’s mayoralty used her casting vote to support a Labor lord mayor.

Cameron Maclean became lord mayor by a single vote on Monday after a testy and teary meeting that followed a day of drama.

Councillor Tanya Raffoul, who announced on Monday morning that she had quit the party over concerns about its links to One Nation, only looked up out of a solemn downward stare during the vote to turn her head and make eye contact with her Liberal ex-colleagues as she raised her hand to vote for Maclean.

The vote came during a meeting that also featured a former staff member identifying himself as a whistleblower whose reports to the ICAC triggered Operation Navarra, a weeks-long public inquiry into the council’s former chief executive Gail Connolly.

Maclean, 28, defeated Liberal councillor Martin Zaiter who had served in the position for a year. Zaiter described his time leading the council as “an extraordinary term with many ups and many downs”.

“Thank you for working together as one along our journey to become Australia’s next global city,” Zaiter told councillors before the vote.

Maclean said he accepted the position “with great humility”, telling Raffoul she had “demonstrated immense integrity and courage under fire” for her defection and vote.

Independent Kellie Darley, who has also identified herself as a whistleblower about council staff, was nominated for the position of deputy mayor by Zaiter and Liberal councillor Sreeni Pillamarri. She won against Labor councillor Michael Ng by two votes, with the council’s departing deputy mayor, independent Charles Chen, abstaining from the vote.

The first motion Darley raised as deputy mayor was about strengthening protections for whistleblowers at the council.

“My children aren’t here to see me being elected as deputy mayor,” she said through tears. “And that’s because one of the consequences for me, of what happened in the reprisal action [alleged to have occurred as a result of Darley’s whistleblowing], is the impact to my now-former marriage, and that every day I am reminded of that impact.”

John Crawford, the council’s former IT boss who was called to give evidence at the ICAC inquiry, spoke in support of Darley’s motion. He claimed he had been subjected to retaliation action after his evidence, including the alleged spreading of a “dirt file” against him leading to numerous media articles.

“It has created serious risk to my career and reputation, and I have very limited practical means for responding,” he said, receiving a standing ovation from councillors and members of the public gallery.

Liberal councillor Steven Issa told Maclean: “What I hope more than anything is that your resolve is strengthened”, a supposed reference to Maclean’s decision to abstain from a council decision to sack Connolly late last year.

By the time Zaiter had walked out of the chamber, his staff had removed the words “Lord Mayor” from his name on Facebook.