Sidoti resigns councillor position

Feb 14: Drummoyne MP John Sidoti has, as expected, stepped down as a Burwood Councillor. Mr Sidoti, who was mayor of Burwood when he was elected to state government, has previously said that he didn’t believe it was possible to hold the position of mayor and be a Member in state government.

In a letter to the General Manager, Michael McMahon, Mr Sidoti cited his Parliamentary commitments as the reason for his decision. “I am taking this action due to the extended work load that I now experience as the Member for Drummoyne as well as Chair and Co-Chair Committees in the NSW Parliament. At this time I believe my duties as a Councillor should not be secondary,” he said.

Mr Sidoti was elected to Burwood Council in 2008 and served as Mayor from 2009 until the 2011 State election, when he stood down as Mayor but remained as a Councillor,  leaving the door open, once again, for Labor’s John Faker to take back the Burwood mayoralty.

With Sidoti’s resignation, Burwood will retain six councillors only until the Local Government elections on September  8 later this year. Mr Sidoti confirmed to the Burwood Scene last Friday that a by-election would not be necessary after the NSW government changed the by- laws last year to allow for the resignation of a councillor within 18 months of an election.

Sidoti said it had been an honour to serve on the Burwood Council but that now his priority must be to the people of the Drummoyne electorate.

Drummoyne MP, John Sidoti