Elsie Adamo
MAYOR Richard Sage of Grant District Council has labelled councillors actions as “pathetic” after breaking his silence on a motion of no confidence moved against him last December.
His silence broke during a heated exchange at a recent council meeting between Mayor Sage and deputy mayor Gillian Clayfield after they disagreed on recent public appearances by the mayor.
Restrictions associated with the no confidence motion remove Mayor Sage’s ability to publicly speak on behalf of the council or on any council business until the end of his term in November this year.
This includes officiating at events, meeting with ministers or government officials, being in media releases, or appearing in media and attending official functions.
The motion does not prohibit the Mayor from taking part in events as a private citizen or representing himself as an individual councillor.
There are also some events at which council has given Mayor Sage permission to attend, such as recent Anzac Day ceremonies.
At the council meeting, concerns were raised by Cr Clayfield about recent and planned appearances by Mayor Sage at public events and meetings which, in her view, contradicted the motion of no confidence.
She cited an example when council agreed last month to send Cr Clayfield to a Local Government Association (LGA) meeting to represent its interests, but Cr Clayfield claimed that Mayor Sage had still planned to attend the event before illness prevented him from doing so.
Cr Clayfield said that if the council was not going to enforce the motion it should be removed.
Later in the meeting, a motion moved by Mayor Sage requested that both himself and chief officer Darryl Whicker approach politicians to advocate for financial support for the Mount Gambier Regional Airport.
Cr Clayfield requested to make an amendment, removing Mayor Sage from the motion.
Mayor Sage attempted to argue that the amendment could not be made, as it was contradictory to the original motion, before being over-ruled by Mr Whicker.
The amendment was carried with council choosing to allow only Mr Whicker to undertake the task.
Later in the meeting, council opted to send Cr Megan Dukalskis to the LGA national general assembly, passing over Mayor Sage.
When the no confidence motion was raised in the council meeting, Mayor Sage used the opportunity to air his grievances.
He said he found the motion “disappointing”, “pathetic”, and that he considered it a political stunt.
Cr Kylie Boston stood by the council’s decision, stating it had been prompted by Mayor Sage’s inappropriate behaviour.
