Yarwood rules out renewed council bid
Former lord mayor Stephen Yarwood has ruled out a campaign to replace outgoing area councillor Robert Simms, but another prominent figure is yet to show his hand.
Yarwood told InDaily he “thought long and hard” about running for the position on the Adelaide City Council after Simms was chosen by the Greens to fill the seat of retiring senator Penny Wright.
“I certainly considered it seriously,” said Yarwood.
“I thought long and hard about whether (returning to the) council is the right thing.”
However, “I don’t think I can give everything to the city of Adelaide if I’m trying to establish my new business,” he said.
Yarwood launched his City2050 “urban futurist” consultancy firm earlier this year.
“One of the two would suffer,” he said.
And, “my son is six, and I want to spend more time with him (to) support his formative years”.
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“My family’s happy and I’m happy.”
Yet, Yarwood conceded, “I’ll always be disappointed I lost the election by so few votes”.
“There’s a part of me that will always be sad that I didn’t win.
“The community spoke.”
Despite ruling out his own candidacy this morning, Yarwood said “this (by-election) may well be a referendum on whether the council goes forwards or backwards in terms of a series of progressive policies around activating Victoria Square, around the food trucks, et cetera”.
He said he council was “finely balanced in terms of people who are rolling things back” and “those who actually want to bring the city to life”.
“Council is reconsidering some of the quite well-liked, progressive policies that were put in place during my term.”
“I’m disappointed with some of those decisions.
“The council does have a progressive and a conservative faction.
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“It’s evenly split.”
He urged ratepayers to “understand that issue and vote accordingly”.
Yarwood declined to rule out a straight-out campaign, at the next council election, to return as lord mayor – but the chances were “very small”.
“I’m not going to rule it out, but I don’t intend to at this stage,” he told InDaily.
“If I was ever going to run for Lord Mayor again it may well be in my sixties or seventies, when my journey as an urbanist is nearing its end.”
InDaily can also reveal that former councillor Michael Henningsen, who challenged Yarwood at the last election, is being corralled to run for Simms’ soon-to-be-vacant spot on council.
North Adelaide councillors Anne Moran and Phil Martin have both been urging the orthopaedic surgeon to make a bid to return to the council.
“He’d bring to the role not only a experienced pair of hands but a consensus style of decision-making,” said Martin told InDaily.
“He lives and works in the city and he (may be) prepared to come back to council to assist all of us in the business of making sure that Adelaide continues to progress.
“… he certainly has my support.”
Moran said Henningsen was “a close ally of mine” when he was a councillor, and “I certainly would encourage him to think about it”.
Henningsen was unable to be contacted this morning.
Publican Gareth Lewis and IT professional Nathan Sree have indicated their interest in the council position.
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