The Greens have announced this evening that their mayoral candidate for the next term of council will be newly elected Balmain-Baludarri ward candidate Kobi Shetty.
In the lead up to the December 4 council election, only sitting Labor councillor Darcy Byrne, also in the Balmain ward, had announced an intention to run for mayor.
With Greens Mayor Rochelle Porteous not running for re-election, question marks remained over who the party would put up to run against Mr Byrne. Now, following a party consensus, Ms Shetty has thrown her hat into the ring.
"Going forward there is a real need to draw a line under the former council and move ahead with a different approach, with new ideas and new ways of working together," she said.
"I'm ready to lead that change, and to make sure the council is progressive, collaborative and respectful, better reflecting the values of the inner west community."
With no experience as a councillor, Ms Shetty acknowledged to Inner West Review that being elected mayor would entail "a steep learning curve, no doubt about that".
"But more than half the council is going to be new, and to say we should preclude all of these new voices from having leadership is a mistake," she said.
"I think the previous council had a lot of issues, it was very divided with a lot of time wasted on bickering, and I think it is important we draw a line under it.
"I am confident I have the abilities and the support I need to lead council in a new direction."
While the election results are yet to be formally announced, Ms Shetty received 33 per cent of the primary vote in the Balmain ward (behind Mr Byrne's 36 per cent), comfortably securing herself a spot on the 15-member council.
The new inner west mayor will be decided on December 29 at a meeting of the newly elected councillors, including at least eight new faces. Incumbent councillors who are certain to return at this point in the count are Labor's Mr Byrne and Mark Drury and the Greens' Marghanita Da Cruz, while independents Pauline Lockie and John Stamolis have also been called as successful.
Ms Shetty, who has lived in the inner west for about 10 years, ran for council to give back to the community she calls home. She has a background in fraud prevention within large financial organisations and has experience dealing with budgets and looking after major operations, the Greens said in their statement.
She has an educational background in community development and sustainability and has been a community campaigner against WestConnex, and in support of refugees, climate action, tree protection and fairer parking.
