Where to now?
POLITICS breeds strange bedfellows and at all levels the power hungry have shown a willingness to dance with the devil if it serves their needs.
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In this week’s Lithgow Mayoral election those deals in the aftermath of the September 10 ballot gave a clear indication that it may well be a turbulent 12 months – or perhaps even four years – for Greater Lithgow.
The ALP faction in council (don’t let the convenient ‘independent’ tag fool you) has new strength in council and on Wednesday night demonstrated they will be playing hardball politics once again.
But they needed one more vote to make their point and Cr Martin Ticehurst was their man.
Forget the fact that he became best known for a bizarre campaign to strip his own city of a national Tidy Towns award or that he had a record of more lengthy suspensions for code of conduct breaches that anyone else in local government in NSW; he was their choice for Deputy Mayor.
This is also despite the fact that only days earlier it was announced he had been again found guilty by the LG tribunal of misconduct and faces the prospect of another suspension once the appeal period is done and dusted.
Key to this draw from the hat fiasco was the decision by former Deputy Mayor Ray Thompson to sit on the sideline and abstain from voting.
Ray had voted for Maree Statham in the past four mayoral elections but he was reported to have his nose out of joint over something that occurred during the council election campaign.
Perhaps this will prove to be a classic case of cutting off one’s nose to spite a face but if he continues to fence sit then nothing will be done.
The behaviour of some councillors during the meeting was hardly encouraging for any harmonious decision making ahead.
Strange – and worrying - days indeed and it may well take a predicted by election to settle the troubled water just a little.