Cedric Spencer’s motivation for running for council in 2017 may seem peculiar to some however Ku-ring-gai residents can probably relate to the same problem he was determined to have fixed by council: potholes.
“I was so sick of them,” the councillor for Wahroonga ward said in an interview over the phone. “Every time you go through that pothole you will grumble and so when I put my hand up to run for council, I wanted to fix all that.”
Spencer said he and his fellow residents would get frustrated whenever they would drive on damaged roads in the area, particularly on Kokoda Avenue as it was “in ruins.”
The repair works were initially delayed but Spencer said he was able to get a position as chair of the Ku-ring-gai traffic committee – as he had qualifications in transport management – and get the process started.
“I resurfaced the roads all over my ward,” Spencer said. “I was mostly focusing in [sic] making my ward a better place.”
Spencer, the son of an English and Portuguese father and Chinese mother, was born in Singapore. When he was 18, he joined the Singapore Army. He said he could have gone to war, but his grandmother didn’t want him to go. He ended up migrating to Australia with his wife, Remon, in his late 20s where he studied, practiced and taught law.
Ku-ring-gai council wasn’t his first stint in politics. He was a liberal candidate for Grayndler in 2013 but lost the federal seat to Labor leader Anthony Albanese. In 2017, he was elected as councillor for Wahroonga ward and now, as mayor of Ku-ring-gai council, Spencer remains focused on serving the residents of Ku-ring-gai.
“Council is in the existence to provide services and facilities to the people, to the community,” he said. “We should stay focused on that.”
Spencer said his main priority is to deliver some of the projects that have been “backlogged for a number of years” including the Lindfield Village Hub, the Turramurra Community Hub as well as the addition of more sporting facilities to the community. But given his short term, he acknowledged that such goals won’t be achievable during his three-month tenure which ends in December.
Instead, he wants to “lay down the foundation” for the new council by changing the culture and implementing a customer service strategy that will allow council to remain focused on addressing the needs and concerns of its residents.
Prior to entering politics, Spencer was a law lecturer at the Australian Catholic University. He said one of the most challenging aspects of the job was reading the student feedback surveys submitted by hundreds of students at the end of every term, which he admits is important. Spencer plans to introduce a similar system to council as he believes that “complaints and feedback are positive” as it “helps us improve.”
Another matter the council wants addressed – and one that has been quite controversial in recent weeks – is for Ku-ring-gai’s longest serving general manager, John McKee’s employment contract to be reviewed.
Some residents and community groups have criticised the mayor for calling the extraordinary meeting of council, with many assuming that the purpose of the meeting is to sack the general manager.
Even Labor local government spokesman Greg Warren has expressed concern about the “situation” at council.
“Whilst the situation at Ku-ring-gai council is a matter for council and those involved, I have been contacted by members of the community who I feel have some very legitimate concerns,” Warren said in an email.
“I would hope that all elected representatives never lose sight that it is the needs of community [sic] we represent that must come first and be our only motivation with all our representations and everything we do.”
While the matter is confidential, Spencer insists that the purpose of the meeting is not to have John McKee dismissed.
“We are not suggesting that we are going to terminate him,” Spencer said. “That is not in the request for the EMC.”
Like the potholes, Spencer’s efforts to discuss such matters at council have been hindered.
The five councillors who voted against Spencer for mayoralty in September – councillors Donna Greenfield, Cheryl Szatow, Jennifer Anderson, Martin Smith, and Callum Clarke – have not attended recent council meetings. At the time of writing, the mayor has had to adjourn an extraordinary meeting three times and the October council meeting twice as there have been insufficient councillors present to meet quorum.
Despite the opposition, one of the councillors who put forward the notice of motion about the general manager, Peter Kelly, said he has been “impressed” by Spencer’s “professionalism, his intellect and his willingness to express his views.”
“We interacted well and have had a robust and effective collaborative relationship ever since. We don’t always agree on issues being debated, but we respect each other’s point of view.”