Inner West Council: Kobi Shetty's big debut - and what comes next

Arriving on the local political scene with the proverbial bang, Cr Shetty was put forward by the Greens to lead the inner west before vote counting in the December 4 election was finalised and Labor's historic majority of eight confirmed.

"I felt very grateful to have been given the trust and the faith of my colleagues to put me up to stand as a candidate - although I knew it would have been a daunting task at first and a steep learning curve," Cr Shetty told Inner West Review. "It was intimidating to a certain extent, but exciting."

READ ALSO: Relentless rain dampens local spirits

Cr Shetty received the votes of her fellow Greens and the two re-elected Independents, Crs John Stamolis and Pauline Lockie - a close, but no cigar, 8-7 vote in Cr Byrne's favour.

The council met for their second meeting of the year on Tuesday. While two Labor councillors in Cr Byrne and Cr Mark Drury are old hands, only one of the five Greens councillors - Marghanita Da Cruz - was an incumbent.

"We have lots of really experienced people in the community who are helping us, and mentoring us, and giving us information," says Cr Shetty. "it is not like we are going in completely green, we've got lots of support and we are just here without the shackles of the last poorly functioning council." After the notoriously fractious first term of the Inner West Council, all sides have been expressing an intention to work collaboratively, and Cr Shetty says it's "really positive" for the community that so many councillors are new and not carrying the baggage of the past.

"I know from the conversations we have had, and the things that people are saying, at least publicly, we are all very keen to work together and make sure this council functions well," said Cr Shetty. "We have had some positive interactions with [the Labor councillors]. We're trying to have as many lines of communications going as we see fit."

READ ALSO: Albanese's million-dollar promise for Leichhardt pool

A former leader of a banking fraud prevention team, Cr Shetty lives in Lilyfield with her IT-consultant husband and three small children, who attend Orange Grove Public School. She says spending a lot more time in the neighbourhood after having kids was behind her motivation to stand for election in the Balmain-Baludarri ward.

"I really realised how important it was to have good playgrounds, good services, footpaths and tree-lined streets, especially with COVID in that last couple of years," she said.

Despite her rapid trajectory from newbie to mayoral candidate, Cr Shetty says she comes with no big ambitions in public life. "I don't know at this point where it is going to take me, I'm certainly not in it to climb the ladder, I just want to get in and do the right thing for the community and see what happens."

Have something to say? Send a letter to the editor at: editor@innerwestreview.com.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: