Penrith Town council is set to appoint a new councillor for the Penrith East Ward, in a closed door meeting the council will exclude the public from. The appointment will be made through a co-option process, whereby existing town councillors will choose a new councillor to become the representative of residents in the Penrith East Ward, from a pool of two applicants, without involving the voters in the ward through any democratic election.
On Monday, July 17, Penrith Town Council will convene to select the individual who will join their ranks as the new councillor for the Penrith East ward. However, the press and public will be asked to leave the council meeting during the consideration of the applications. This decision has raised concerns about the transparency and accountability of the council's decision-making process.
The council has not disclosed the names of the applicants publicly that current councillors they will be considering during the closed-door meeting on Monday.
It is however understood that a former town councillor, who was unsuccessful in the May town council elections, is believed to be a front-runner for the position.
While the council has the authority to co-opt a candidate, the selected individual must meet the qualifications required to be a councillor.
The absence of an election process and the lack of public involvement have led to criticism from both residents and some newly elected councillors.
Councillor Jeff Thomson, who was elected to the Penrith West seat in May, expressed his concerns about the co-option process through an online statement. He highlighted the lack of a democratic election and emphasised that the decision regarding the new Penrith East councillor will be made solely by the existing town councillors.
Councillor Thomson expressed concerns about the cooption process in an online statement saying
”NO democratic election! Councillors will decide for YOU! Penrith town councillors (some who themselves were not elected, through the uncontested seat system) will decide on July 17 who Penrith East's new councillor will be.“ adding to his statement “I wish I knew how to stop it!”
As Penrith Town Council proceeds with the appointment of the new councillor at Mondays meeting with the press and public excluded, the closed-door meeting and absence of an election process is likely to fuel concerns like those expressed by Cllr Thomson and discussions about transparency, accountability, and the role of public involvement in local decision-making.
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