Blue Mountains Mayor Daniel Myles and Deputy Mayor Mark Greenhill in Springwood last week.
Liberal Party councillor Daniel Myles was re-elected Blue Mountains Mayor last Tuesday but wouldn’t commit to running for the top job in a year’s time.
“We’ll play it by ear. We’ll take each year as it comes,” he told the Gazette when asked if he planned to serve a second 12-month term as mayor on this council.
The Ward 3 representative was elected unopposed for the mayor’s job with Labor’s Mark Greenhill elected deputy mayor despite the ALP having five councillors to the Liberal Party’s four on the new council.
Clr Greenhill indicated he would stand for the mayor’s position if Myles decided not to re-contest the position in the future.
“If there’s a period in the term of this council that Daniel decides he wants to give it away, I will stand,” he said.
“I would seek his support . . . If that happens it will be collaborative.”
Clr Myles said he would “very pleased” to support his deputy in such a circumstance.
He described his approach on the new council as “stable but not complacent”, listing bushfire control and maintaining local planning powers as two of his priorities.
Clr Greenhill welcomed the renewal of his partnership with the Liberal mayor.
“Daniel and I now enter the third year of a partnership that has seen us put political and philosopohical differences — which we do have — aside for the good of the community,” he said.
“Our time in these roles has been marked by stability and a lack of division within council. I am confident this will continue with the new council. I am very impressed with this group. The new council, even at this early stage, has a sense of bipartisanship about it.”
He said he would focus on issues like the introduction of green bins, fixing problems caused by Blaxland tip, and addressing parking problems in Glenbrook.
Both the mayor and deputy mayor said any criticism of the Labor and Liberal parties forming an alliance on the council was misplaced.
“Individuals will say ‘that’s dreadful’ but that’s not how people voted,” said Clr Greenhill.
“There’s an unprecedented number of Labor councillors on this council. There’s never been five before and I would submit that one of the reasons for that is on the last council we worked collaboratively with the Libs, and not against them, and that’s what people expect.”
Clr Myles said the new council was “outcome-orientated”.
“I can’t think of any issues (we will deal with) that people are going to cut up rough about whatever their political affiliation,” he said.