Present
In early 2004, the Australian Labor Party government, under Bob Carr, sacked and re-amalgamated the City of Sydney and South Sydney Councils. The move came largely as a surprise, with then-Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull (the wife of Liberal Malcolm Turnbull) being notified by a fax posted under her door. The decision to amalgamate the two councils was widely interpreted by the media as an attempt to get the Labor candidate, former federal minister Michael Lee, elected as Lord Mayor, as it would bring a large area of largely Labor-voting suburbs into the City of Sydney. However, several of these suburbs also made up Moore's state electorate of Bligh.
When Turnbull announced soon after that she would not seek re-election, Lee appeared to have the position won. Then, on 24 February, Moore entered the race, labelling the council's sacking a "cynical grab for power" and sharply condemning the sacking of a democratically elected mayor, despite her ideological differences with Turnbull. By the following day, The Sydney Morning Herald was already predicting that she would present a serious challenge to Lee.
Despite a spirited challenge from Lee, who was supported by much of the business community which had concerns about Moore's anti-development stance, Moore won. She finished with more than double the vote of her nearest rival, Lee, and ABC election analyst Antony Green announced that she would "romp through" to win, only 90 minutes after counting began.
Though she had made a point of not directing voting preferences in her four election campaigns in the Legislative Assembly, Moore decided to support a team of independents for the council race. This turned out to be quite successful, with four of her team of six - John McInerney, Robyn Kemmis, Marcelle Hoff and Phillip Black - being elected to council.
At the local government elections held on 13 September 2008 Moore was re-elected as Lord Mayor of Sydney. Moore continues to balance her commitments as Lord Mayor, along with those of her state parliament role, and she has served on the Legislative Assembly Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics.
Moore broke an ankle on Ride to Work Day in October 2010, when she fell off her bike, necessitating that she attend some events in a wheelchair.
Read more about this topic: Clover Moore, Lord Mayor, 2004
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