Clover Moore has declared victory as Mayor of Sydney for a historic sixth term.
In Saturday’s New South Wales local government election, the 78-year-old independent politician endured what she called “the toughest campaign” of her career.
Moore claimed victory on Saturday night at the Arthouse hotel in central Sydney, beating out nine other candidates to secure the keys to Sydney City Hall.
Moore’s rivals in the mayoral race included the Liberals, Labor, the Greens and independent Yvonne Weldon.
“It’s been a great campaign,” Ms Moore said.
“I think it was the toughest campaign I’ve ever had. There was a very concerted campaign to try to get rid of me.”
Ms Moore said she was disappointed by her opponents.
“I didn’t think any of the other candidates had anything to offer,” Moore said.
Clover Moore (pictured) claimed victory on Saturday night at the Arthouse hotel in central Sydney, beating out nine other candidates to secure the keys to Sydney Town Hall.
Clover Moore is pictured celebrating with fans on Saturday night at the Arthouse hotel in Sydney’s CBD.
“They said we need change and new ideas. I listened very carefully to see what the new ideas were and there were none.”
“There was a sense of real desperation to try to get me out of City Hall. That was expressed in the candidate forums, which I think were quite unpleasant.
“Nobody talked about new ideas or new policies, they just attacked me. It was a pretty strange campaign, actually.”
Ms Moore said affordable housing, action on climate change, Chinatown and Oxford Street would be among her priorities.
The 78-year-old independent politician overcame what she called “the toughest campaign” of her career
Earlier on Saturday, Ms Moore apologised after a rival’s campaign sign was removed and replaced with her own.
Independent candidate Yvonne Weldon took to social media on Saturday to claim one of Moore’s volunteers had taken her corflutes in Redfern, hidden them in a car and replaced them with posters in support of Australia’s longest-serving mayor.
Ms Moore, who is fighting to keep the keys to Sydney City Hall after 20 years in office, apologised for the incident.
“I am sorry this happened. It should not have happened at all. I am told the volunteer was instructed to correct and replace the item immediately,” Moore said in a statement.
Ms Weldon, an Indigenous candidate, said the incident was disappointing, unacceptable and “emblematic of why we need change”.