Perth Voice Interactive

BAYSWATER mayor Filomena Piffaretti has resigned just days before the election in a shock move that looks set to trigger a costly by-election.

Ms Piffaretti was in the middle of a four-year term as a councillor, and was elected mayor by fellow councillors in 2021.

This year Bayswater ratepayers get to elect the mayor themselves, and Ms Piffaretti is in the field of four people who’ve put their hands up.

If a sitting councillor becomes a mayor, new provisions in the Local Government Act allow a runner-up from their ward to simply “backfill” the vacancy.

If Ms Piffaretti had resigned early enough, the WA Electoral Commission would have been able to advertise the two vacancies at this week’s elections, or if she’d held off until after the election the spot would have been backfilled.

But her resignation on October 16, just five days before votes are counted, won’t leave an opportunity for a “backfill” of the vacant spot, meaning North Ward will be one councillor short until the by-election. 

Bayswater CEO Jeremy Edwards said: “The City understands the vacancy created following Cr Piffaretti‚Äôs resignation will need to be filled through an extraordinary election to be held within the next four months and is in discussions with the Department about what options are available to deal with the vacancy.”

An extraordinary election will probably cost more than $30,000, with some estimates reaching $70,000 based on the budgeted amount for Bayswater’s last extraordinary election in 2018.

Ms Piffaretti explained her reasoning in a social media post: “This decision was not easy, but after listening to feedback from numerous ratepayers and residents, I firmly believe it is the right thing to do and respects your right to choose the Council you feel will best represent you.

“I believe whoever you elect as your Mayor on Saturday should be able to do so with a clear mandate. The Mayor should be given the opportunity to lead in their own right with the best interests of the community in mind.”

Ms Piffaretti’s manoeuvre has the potential to shut out current councillor Sally Palmer, with whom she’s crossed swords in the chamber over a range of issues.

Cr Palmer is seeking re-election in North Ward against two candidates publicly endorsed by the former mayor.

Based on past performance, Piffaretti ally Cr Michelle Sutherland is likely to command the highest vote, with Cr Palmer a probably second over newcomer Mr Shanahan, who’s also got the former mayor’s backing on election material.

With Ms Piffaretti’s resignation, if Cr Palmer can’t win the top spot, she faces another costly campaign against a mayoral-backed candidate with all that faction’s resources lined up behind them.

Councillor Elli Petersen-Pik said whoever won the by-election would probably only get about 18 months on council before their term ended.

“Following a previous resignation, the Council was asked to allocate $70,000 to conduct an extraordinary election. This unnecessary expenditure concerns me, when there are so many priorities for our communities,” he said.

Mr Edwards confirmed to us via an emailed response: “Councillors have been provided with a series of briefings on the Local Government Reforms with topics including optional preferential voting, and the new backfilling and vacancy provisions in the Local Government Act.”

We attempted to contact Ms Piffaretti via the phone number and email she provided for her election campaign, but did not hear back.

by DAVID BELL