2018 Melbourne lord mayoral by-election explained

The 2018 Melbourne lord mayoral by-election was held from 23 April until 11 May 2018 to elect the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, following the resignation of Robert Doyle. The election used a preferential voting system and was held by postal ballot.^[1]

Background

The City of Melbourne is a local government municipality consisting of nine councillors, a lord mayor and a deputy lord mayor, who are elected for a four-year term. The incumbent lord mayor, Robert Doyle, was first elected in the 2008 City of Melbourne election.

On 15 December 2017, Cr Tessa Sullivan resigned from the council. Sullivan, who had been elected on the Team Doyle ticket alongside Doyle, lodged a complaint with the City of Melbourne chief executive Ben Rimmer. In her complaint, Sullivan alleged that Doyle had sexually harassed and indecently assaulted her. On 17 December, Doyle released a statement on Twitter, which said he had not been informed of the details of the allegations. He announced he would take a month's leave while an investigation was carried out, stressing that his standing aside "must not be interpreted as any concession or admission".^{[2] [3]}

Further allegations were made against Doyle in January 2018.^[4] On 4 February 2018, Doyle resigned as Lord Mayor of Melbourne.^[5]

Candidates

The candidates for lord mayor at the by-election were:

Candidates (14) in ballot paper order
Party		width=15%	Candidate	width=70%	Background
width=3pt		Independent	Qun Xie	Taxation officer, accountant, economist and company executive director.[6]
width=3pt		Independent	Sally Capp	Former CEO of the Committee for Melbourne, former Victorian Agent-General in London.[7]
width=3pt		Independent	Luke Downing[8]
width=3pt		Greens		City of Melbourne councillor and Chair of the Arts, Culture, and Heritage portfolios.[9]
width=3pt		Independent	Sally Warhaft	Broadcaster, anthropologist and writer involved with the Wheeler Centre.[10]
width=3pt		Independent	Alex Macdonald	Local business owner.[11]
width=3pt		Independent	Allan Watson	Former councillor and Lord Mayor, 1993.
width=3pt		Labor	Jennifer Yang	Former City of Manningham mayor and businesswoman.[12]
width=3pt		Independent	Katie Sfetkidis	Independent artist.[13]
width=3pt		Independent	Gary Morgan	Executive chairman of Roy Morgan Research and pollster.[14]
width=3pt		Independent	Nathalie Nicole O'Sughrue	Employment Services Industry, Business coach.
width=3pt		Independent	Michael Burge	Psychologist, Liberal candidate for Thomastown in the 2010 Victorian state election, OAM.
width=3pt		Liberal	Ken Ong	Businessman and former City of Melbourne councillor.
width=3pt		Animal Justice Party	Bruce Poon[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor by-election results . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200708211211/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Results/MelbourneResult.html . 8 July 2020 . dead.
2. News: Perkins. Miki. Lucas. Clay. Lord mayor Robert Doyle takes leave after sex harassment claim by councillor who quit. 20 December 2017. The Age. 17 December 2017.
3. News: Melbourne Lord Mayor stands aside over indecent assault allegations. 20 December 2017. ABC News. 17 December 2017. en-AU.
4. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/more-of-robert-doyles-alleged-victims-keep-silent-fearing-they-too-will-be-vilified-20180122-h0m1m9.html More of Robert Doyle's alleged victims keep silent fearing they too will be 'vilified'
5. News: Lucas. Clay. Perkins. Miki. Robert Doyle quits as lord mayor of Melbourne. 4 February 2018. The Age. 4 February 2018.
6. Web site: Xie . Qun . Candidate Questionnaire and Answers . Victorian Electoral Commission . https://web.archive.org/web/20180513011424/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Candidates/12249.pdf . 13 May 2018 . dead.
7. News: Lenaghan . Nick . Property Council's Sally Capp runs for Melbourne Lord Mayor . 10 July 2018 . Australian Financial Review . 1 March 2018.
8. Web site: Downing . Luke . Candidate Questionnaire and Answers . Victorian Electoral Commission . https://web.archive.org/web/20180513011449/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Candidates/12240.pdf . 13 May 2018 . dead.
9. Web site: Greens councillor Rohan Leppert to run for lord mayor of Melbourne. Clay. Lucas. 8 March 2018. The Age. 10 July 2018.
10. Web site: Ending Melbourne's 'toxic culture': Sally Warhaft on why she wants to be mayor. Gay. Alcorn. 5 April 2018. the Guardian. 10 July 2018.
11. Web site: Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor by-election candidates . Victorian Electoral Commission . https://web.archive.org/web/20180513011452/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/MelbourneElection/Candidates/ . 13 May 2018 . dead.
12. Web site: Interest grows in Melbourne mayor job. 10 July 2018.
13. Web site: Artist runs for Lord Mayor. Richard. Watts. 10 July 2018.
14. Web site: Gary Morgan. Roy Morgan. 10 July 2018.
15. Web site: Poon . Bruce . Candidate Questionnaire and Answers . Victorian Electoral Commission . https://web.archive.org/web/20180513011346/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Candidates/12238.pdf . 13 May 2018 . dead.