Council
17 September, 2026
No surprises in mid-term election at Wingecarribee
Councillor Erin Foley has been elected the new mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council. Cr Foley – the former deputy mayor – defeated Cr Heather Champion 5-2 in the mid-term election at council’s Tuesday night meeting.
Councillor Erin Foley has been elected the new mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council.
Cr Foley – the former deputy mayor – defeated Cr Heather Champion 5-2 in the mid-term election at council’s Tuesday night meeting.
She will remain in the role until the next local government elections in September 2028.
Cr Foley received the votes of Crs Therese Duffy, Jesse Fitzpatrick, James Farrell and David Kent with her own vote taking the tally to five.
Cr Champion received the vote of Cr Nicole Smith with her own vote taking the tally to two.
Crs Sara Moylan and Rachel Russell both abstained from the vote.
Cr Foley replaces Cr Jesse Fitzpatrick who was elected mayor in October 2024 after the return of council’s first elected body following a four-year period of administration.
Cr Fitzpatrick announced last month that he would not be contesting the mayoral position but would not be stepping away from council.
He said he remained committed to representing the community and “delivering for the Wingecarribee Shire”.
Cr Fitzpatrick has taken the seat in the council chamber formerly occupied by Cr Foley alongside Crs Farrell and Kent.
Cr Kent defeated Cr Champion 6-1 in the ballot for deputy mayor.
Cr Kent received the votes of Crs Smith, Fitzpatrick, Duffy, Foley and Farrell with his own vote taking the tally to six.
Cr Champion voted for herself with Crs Moylan and Russell also abstaining from the deputy mayoral vote.
The two councillors who probably clashed with former mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick most often in the council chamber – Crs Russell and Moylan – were the first to thank him for his service to the community as mayor over the past two years.
Prior to Tuesday night’s vote, Cr Russell said the incoming mayor would shoulder a great responsibility.
She said she had spoken to a wide range of ratepayers and they had identified a number of qualities they would like see in a leader including good communication skills, decorum and an inclusive approach to leadership.
“When we do that (take an inclusive approach) everybody wins,” she said.
She said being a councillor was about principles and not personality.
Cr Russell said she was surprised that she hadn’t been contacted by any other councillors in the lead up to Tuesday night’s election asking for her vote.
“Clearly they don’t need it,” she said.
“I wish the very best for whoever steps into the role,” she said.
Cr Moylan said it was “quite obvious” that the outgoing mayor and her hadn’t agreed on much but commended him on an “excellent” election campaign and on his energy.
She acknowledged the “enormity” of someone putting their hand up for a position like mayor and “putting themselves out there for the community”.
Incoming mayor Erin Foley thanked her fellow councillors for their support and for putting their trust in her to lead council through to the next local government election.
She also thanked Cr Fitzpatrick for his service.
She said much of his hard work had been behind the scenes but his legacy would be felt for many years to come.
Cr Foley said she was committed to delivering on council’s vision to make the Wingecarribee the most liveable place in NSW by 2035 for all generations to thrive.
“I will continue working to make a difference in the place I call I home.”
She said council had already made a number of positive gains in areas such as DA processing times and financial sustainability, indicating that it was “heading in the right direction”.
Incoming deputy mayor Cr David Kent thanked Cr Fitzpatrick and described him as a “one-in-150-year mayor”.
He also congratulated Cr Foley and said she had served as a great role model during her two years as deputy mayor.
Cr Kent said he was excited to be in a leadership position and was confident that council would continue “kicking goals”.
He described himself as a proud member of the Australian Labor Party and said he would continue to work towards decisions that were in the community’s best interests.
With the pleasantries out of the way there was an almost immediate indication that not much will change in the council chamber.
When Cr Moylan asked Cr Foley about her vision as mayor, Cr Foley replied that she was happy to speak at length “but now is not the time”.
She then shut Cr Moylan down when she tried to raise a matter of urgent business relating to a Mittagong family with raw sewage escaping from a septic tank on their property.
Cr Foley interrupted Cr Moylan to say that she had heard enough to decide the matter was important but not urgent.
Later in the meeting a procedural motion from Cr Kent to reduce councillors’ speaking time to 30 seconds was allowed by the mayor, sparking an angry response from Cr Russell who described the move as “extremely disappointing”.
She said a reduction in speaking time was “explicably” against the wishes of the Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig and against the intentions of the Office of Local Government’s Model Code of Meeting Practice.
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