Mayor looks forward to getting on with business

STEVE Krieg has been returned as mayor of Lismore for another term.

Running as an independent candidate in the 2024 NSW local government elections, Cr Krieg received 48.94 per cent of the primary vote and built the margin to 66.2 per cent after preferences were distributed.

Greens candidate Vanessa Grindon-Ekins was second, meaning the end of her 20-year career as a councillor, as she ran only as a mayoral candidate this year.

Cr Krieg said he was looking forward to continuing the work the councillors had started in the last term.

“I’m really excited about the next four years,” Cr Krieg said.

“The election results show Lismore is craving stability for the future.”

One of the most important items on the agenda for the mayor is the repair of flood-damaged roads. He said the project was one of the biggest undertaken under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements program.

“It’s going to be a long process,” Cr Krieg said.

It was important to continue to promote the message that there was a future after the flood, he said.

“We need to instil confidence in people that we can rebuild bigger and stronger than before the 2022 flood,” Cr Krieg said.

“We have all the elements to be a very successful regional centre, and I want to make sure that happens.”

Seven councillors will return to the chamber, and a former councillor was re-elected.

Incumbent councillors Jeri Hall, Electra Jensen, Andrew Gordon and Andrew Bing ran on Cr Krieg’s ticket and were re-elected.

Gianpiero Battista was also elected on Cr Krieg’s ticket. He previously served three terms as a councillor in Lismore but stepped down before the 2021 election. Independent candidate Big Rob was re-elected for another term, and two new Labor candidates will join the chamber – Harper Dalton-Earls and Jasmine Knight-Smith.

Adam Guise was re-elected and will be joined by fellow Greens candidate Virginia Waters. The next council meeting is at 6pm on Tuesday, October 15.