Maverick Melbourne City Councillor, Stephen Mayne's push for power comes to a crashing holt

Melbourne City Councillor and serial candidate Stephen Mayne's bid to win the Municipal Association of Victoria's presidency came a cropper with Stephen Mayne only managing to secure 14 votes. 

Mayne came in third with incumbent president Bill McArthur re-elected with 44 primary votes behind Andrew Munroe who had 16 votes.

Costing the City of Melbourne over 38 Thousand dollars in the first year and a further $55,000 every year following. 

Stephen Mayne tried to dismiss his defeat by claiming that  "his push to the presidency was was never about winning".

"Cr McArthur's win was always widely expected although it is the first time in many years that the non-metropolitan gerrymander (51 out of 79 votes with 20% of the population) has delivered a decisive victory over competing candidates from larger metro councils."


Blaming the MAV rural "Jerry Manader" of non Metropolitan versus Metropolitan votes is misleading as the metropolitan votes did not support Mayne either.  His "old" Municipality of Manningham did not vote for his candidacy

Having been derailed in his obvious push to power and trying desperately to not be seen as irrelevant, Stephen Mayne claim a victory for the gender balance with the MAV electing a majority of women on the MAV board. Previously women represented 5 out of 13 seats on the board and now can boast a majority having secured 7 seats held by women and 5 by men.   The support shown for women delegates was not reflected in Stephen Mayne's push for the presidency.