23
March 2004
Jan
Barham - Mayor, (Byron Shire Council)
Jan Barham’s family connection with our region goes back to the
1870s. She was educated in Wollongong and completed Fashion at East
Sydney Technical College. After ten years in the Sydney fashion industry
Jan moved to Byron Bay in 1989.
Here
she became involved with local environment groups, Byron Environment
Centre and BEACON. She was Tweed Byron Greens secretary 1993-94 and
assistant secretary for The Greens NSW in 1994. Jan was the secretary
of the Byron Shire Businesses for the Future for 4 years during which
the group successfully challenged the Club Med approval for Byron
Bay.
When
Ian Cohen was elected to the Parliament in 1999 she was appointed
as his adviser and researcher. She remained there part time until
2004. In 1999, Jan was elected to Byron Shire Council, became Deputy
Mayor in 2003 and in 2004 became Australia's first popularly elected
Green Mayor.
_______________________
22
August 2006
Tick
of approval
(Mungo MacCallum, Ocean Shores)
I have
been asked to clarify comments I made about Mayor Jan Barham at the
Byron Writers festival earlier this month. The context was a question
about whether my political judgments had ever proved faulty. I replied
that they certainly had and gave as one example my refusal to endorse
Barham at the last council election. At the time I feared that she
would lead a divisive and uncompromising Green caucus which would
take extreme positions and lead to a collapse in the decision making
process. I am delighted to have been proved wrong; in fact Barham’s
mayoralty has been one of the more inclusive of my 18 years in the
Shire. There have been glitches: the procrastination over sporting
fields for Ocean Shores must be counted as a failure. But on the whole
Barham’s administration has been fair, progressive and transparent.
She has stood up to the bullying of developers while keeping the fanatics
of her own side in check, a considerable political feat. If asked
to endorse her for a second term I shall do so with enthusiasm.
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