Fallout from last month’s NSW Liberal Party council nominations debacle continues.
A NSW Liberal Party councillor has formally endorsed Labor for the Cessnock City Council election after she was unable to seek re-election.
Ward C councillor Karen Jackson, along with fellow Liberal incumbents Paul Dunn (Ward A), John Moores (Ward B and mayoral candidate) and Paul Paynter (Ward D), are not on the ballot on September 14 after the Liberal Party failed to nominate dozens of candidates across the state.
In a rare move, Jackson has posted on Facebook to “Vote Labor” in all four wards, along with the mayoral race.
She also noted of her own ward that lead Labor candidate Sophie Palmowski is “a lovely lady who is dedicated and very hard-working”.
“You do have an option to vote for a true Independent which is GROUP C if you can't bring yourself to vote Labor,” she added.
In Ward B, she similarly said that “you do have an option to vote for a true Independent which is GROUP A if you can't bring yourself to vote Labor.”
To be clear – she is endorsing independents not affiliated with Cessnock Independents, the group which has three sitting councillors and endorsements across all five contests.
In the mayoral race, she endorsed incumbent Labor mayor Jay Suvaal over Daniel Watton (Cessnock Independents) and Llynda Nairn (Greens).
Jackson described the endorsements as “my suggestions on how to vote in light of the incompetence of a certain person who failed to do the only job he had to do which was to get candidates on the ballot”.
“My suggestions will ensure the Cessnock LGA will move forward seamlessly with a cohesive team wanting to see the betterment of Cessnock, the second fastest-growing LGA in the state of NSW.”
At the 2021 election, Suvaal was elected mayor with 59.5% of the two-candidate-preferred vote over Ian Olsen from Cessnock Independents (then known as Olsen's Independents Team or Olsen Independents). The Liberals finished third, with 18.9% of the first preference vote.
Labor won five of the 12 councillor seats, while Cessnock/Olsen Independents won four and the Liberals won three. However, Ward D councillor Paul Paynter defected from Cessnock Independents to the Liberals on 22 January this year.
It's not clear whether these endorsements from Jackson officially carry over as the formal position of the Cessnock Liberals. 6 News has contacted Jackson for comment.
Liberals for Cessnock released a statement on 15 August, writing:
"Due to the Liberal head office failing to submit the paperwork of the Cessnock Liberal candidates to the NSW Electoral Commission before the close of nominations, the Cessnock Liberal team deeply regret to announce there will be no Liberal candidates on the ballot for the election on 14, September 2024."
I’m sure you have many questions about how this happened, what was behind it, and who is accountable. The issues stem from the Liberal head office in Sydney and not from the hard-working Liberals in Cessnock.
This is a challenging time for the four encumbent [sic] Liberal Councillors who have been working very hard as your local councillors and were likely to be elected on 14 September to continue their dedication to the community.
The four Liberal Councillors have been overwhelmed by the unwavering support they’ve received from the community over the years. Their tireless supporters have gone above and beyond during this brief campaign period, and the Councillors are deeply grateful. Looking ahead, they are excited to give back to the community they hold dear, using their roles to make a genuine difference in the lives of local residents.
Onward and upward."