Melbourne Lord Mayor announced her resignation Thursday morning with “mixed emotions”. Image source: Sally Capp, via X.
Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne Sally Capp has released a statement saying she will not contest her position in the next local election.
The announcement was made “with mixed emotions” on Thursday morning 28 March, a month after she returned to her role from a month-long sabbatical.
Capp was first elected to Lord Mayor in the May 2018 by-election that followed the resignation of her predecessor, Liberal member Robert Doyle.
Doyle’s resignation was made seven weeks after two fellow councillors alleged that he had sexually harassed them.
“The City of Melbourne was in dire need of leadership when I was elected as Lord Mayor,” said Capp.
“There were significant internal and external issues – including a culture of unacceptable councillor behaviour and delays on major projects.”
Capp was re-elected in November 2020 amid the “profound challenges of the global pandemic and long lockdowns” for another four-year term.
She is the first woman to be directly elected to the position of Lord Mayor in Melbourne.
Melbourne’s next council election is scheduled for October this year.
Capp previously indicated that she would not “do a Dan Andrews”, referencing the former Labor premier of Victoria’s resignation.
“If I did a Dan Andrews, I’d go through to the election and then I would resign after the election,” she told The Age.
She indicated that her age was a motivating factor for her resignation.
“I have decided that at 56, having spent my 50s so far at Town Hall, it’s time for me to seek new opportunities to propel me into my next decade.”
The Lord Mayor said she was “so proud” of her six years in office.
Capp told ABC Radio Melbourne she intends to finish her duties at the end of June and is “focused on stability and good governance”.
“I will continue to give the job my full commitment right up until my last minute at Town Hall,” she said in her statement.
