Elections were held on 14 September 2024 to elect mayors or lord mayors to 37 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia. The elections took place as part of the statewide local elections.
Background 2021 referendums
At the 2021 local elections, four referendum questions were put to voters about directly elected mayors.
When asked if they supported the introduction of a directly elected mayor, 72.7% voted "Yes" in Bega Valley and 76.2% voted "Yes" in Ryde. In Wagga Wagga, 50.6% voted "No" to the creation of a directly elected mayor, the closest margin of any local referendum questions in 2021. In Griffith, voters were asked if they supported removing the direct mayoral election, to which 71.8% voted "No".
Angelo Tsirekas dismissal On 6 April 2022, it was announced Canada Bay mayor Angelo Tsirekas (Our Local Community) was under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) over allegations he accepted benefits from developer I-Prosperity Group in return for "favourable planning decisions" dating back to 2012.
Tsirekas was suspended as mayor on 9 November 2023 after ICAC found he had engaged in corrupt conduct. It was found he received benefits including overseas flights and accommodation, worth at least $18,800, between 2015 and 2019.
On 13 December 2023, Tsirekas was dismissed as mayor by Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig. He was banned from civic office for a period of five years. On 25 January 2024, Michael Megna () was appointed by councillors to serve for the remainder of the term.
Candidates Incumbents at the time of the elections are highlighted in bold text. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. LGA Held by Independents Others Ballina Sharon Cadwallader Team Andrew Broadley Kiri Dicker Keith Hall (Ind) Phil Meehan (Ind) Bega Valley Helen O'Neil Peter Haggar Russell Fitzpatrick (Ind) David Porter (IFC) Mitchell Nadin (IFC) Tony Allen (Ind) Bellingen Waterfall Way Inds Dominic King Steve Allan (WWI) Broken HillFor A Better Broken HillDarriea Turley Tom Kennedy (FABBH) David Gallagher (TBH) Burwood John Faker David Hull Guitang Lu (Unity) Byron Asren Pugh Sarah Ndiaye Michael Lyon (BI) David Warth (BSC) Canada Bay Andrew Ferguson Michael Megna Charles Jago Cessnock Jay Suvaal Llynda Nairn Daniel Watton (CI) Coffs Harbour Tony Judge Jonathan CassellNikki Williams (TN) Tegan Swan (TWT) Rodney Fox (Ind) Paul Amos (TM) George Cecato (BCC) Dungog Digby Rayward (Ind) Michael Dowling (Ind. Nat) John Connors (Ind) Karen Drinan (Ind) Eurobodalla Sharon Winslade Colleen Turner Phil Constable (Ind) Rob Pollock (Ind) Mick Johnson (Ind) Clair Mcash (Ind) Mat Hatcher (AE) Anthony Mayne (MT) Fairfield Frank Carbone George Barcha Frank Carbone (FC) Griffith Doug Curran (Ind) Anne Napoli (Ind) Hornsby Janelle McIntosh Warren Waddell Tania Salitra Roger Woodward (Ind) Nathan Tilbury (NTH) Hunter's Hill Zac Miles Ross Williams (TR) Kempsey Arthur Bain Leo Hauville (Ind) Charanjit Bedi (Ind) Dean Saul (Ind) Tony Irwin (Ind) Simon Fergusson (Ind) Kinne Ring (Ind) Lake Macquarie Adam Shultz Melody Harding Bryce Ham Romairi Dawson (Ind) John Gilbert (OLC) Kate Warner (LMI) Lismore Harper Dalton-Earls Vanessa Grindon-Ekins Steve Krieg (SKFL) Big Rob (Ind) John Jenkins (Ind) Liverpool Betty Green Ned Mannoun Michael Andjelkovic (Ind) Michael Tierney (Ind) Robert Aiken (Ind) Karress Rhodes (LI) Peter Ristevski (OLC) Gemma Noiosi (LBT) Peter Harle (LCIT) Deb Gurung (CVA) Maitland Ben Whiting Campbell Knox Sean Saffari (Ind) Philip Penfold (PI) Mosman John Wakefield Simon Menzies (Ind) Roy Bendall (MB) Ann Kimber (SM) Nambucca Valley Susan Jenvey David Jones Ljubov Simson (Ind) Gary Lee (Ind) Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes Callum Pull Charlotte McCabe Ross Kerridge (ON) Steve O'Brien (SA) Milton Caine (C4C) Orange Jeffery Whitton David Mallard Gerald Power (Ind) Melanie McDonell (Ind) Kevin Duffy (Ind) Tony Mileto (Ind) Tammy Greenhalgh (TFO) Port Macquarie-Hastings Lauren Edwards Adam Roberts (TR) Mark Hornshaw (LBT) Nik Lipovac (TL) Port Stephens Leah Anderson Mark Watson (SPS) Paul Le Monttee (Ind) Richmond Valley Robert Mustow (Ind) Robert Hayes (Ind) Lyndall Murray (RVV) John Walker (ATFC) Ryde Bernard Purcell Trenton Brown Tina Kordrostami Roy Maggio (RMI) Shellharbour Rob Peterski Chris Homer (CHI) Paul Rankin (Ind) Shoalhaven Kaye Gartner Jemma Tribe (TT) Patricia White (SIG) Singleton Peree Watson Sue Moore (Ind) Danny Thompson (Ind) SydneyTeam Clover (CMIT)Zann MaxwellLydon GannonSylvie EllsmoreSusan Ritchie (Ind) Baiyu Chen (Ind) Sam Danieli (WLS) Sean Masters (LBT) Rachel Evans (SA) The Hills Immanuel Selvaraj Michelle Byrne Mila Kasby Uralla Robert Bell (Ind) Willoughby Tanya Taylor (TTCM) Henry Luo (Ind. Labor) Anna Greco (WCI) Roy McCallagh (TR) WollondillyMatt Gould (MGT) Ben Banasik (ETL) Paul Rogers (TP) Wollongong Tania Brown Jess Whittaker Ryan Morris (Ind)
Retiring mayors Kay Fraser (Labor) − Lake Macquarie, announced 8 March 2024 Carolyn Corrigan (Serving Mosman) − Mosman, announced 1 May 2024 (contesting as councillor candidate) Amanda Findley (Greens) − Shoalhaven, announced 6 May 2024 Gordon Bradbery () − Wollongong, announced 16 May 2024 Peta Pinson () − Port Macquarie-Hastings, announced 1 July 2024 (endorsed Team Roberts) Ryan Palmer (Independent) − Port Stephens, announced 31 July 2024 Jason Hamling (Team Hamling) − Orange, announced 5 August 2024 Philip Ruddock (Liberal) − Hornsby, lost preselection 5 August 2024 Peter Gangemi (Liberal) − The Hills, lost preselection 6 August 2024 Rhonda Hoban (Independent) − Nambucca Valley, announced 14 August 2024
Results
Ballina
Bega Valley
This was the first time the position of mayor of Bega Valley was directly elected instead of appointed by councillors Russell Fitzpatrick () was the incumbent mayor going into the 2024 election
Bellingen
Broken Hill
Burwood
Byron
Canada Bay
Cessnock
Coffs Harbour
Dungog
This was the first time the position of mayor of Dungog was directly elected instead of appointed by councillors John Connors () was the incumbent mayor going into the 2024 election
Eurobodalla
Fairfield
Griffith
Hornsby
Hunter's Hill
Kempsey
Lake Macquarie
Lismore
Liverpool
Maitland
Mosman
Nambucca Valley
Newcastle
Orange
Port Macquarie-Hastings
Port Stephens
Richmond Valley
Ryde
This was the first time the position of mayor of Ryde was directly elected instead of appointed by councillors Trenton Brown () was the incumbent mayor going into the elections, having been appointed on 28 March 2024
Shellharbour
Shoalhaven
Singleton
Sydney
The Hills
Uralla
Willoughby
Wollondilly
Wollongong
Notes
References