Ku-ring-gai’s new deputy
AFTER just three years on Ku-ring-gai Council, Jewish Councillor David Ossip has been appointed deputy mayor with a vote of 7-3.
AFTER just three years on Ku-ring-gai Council, Jewish Councillor David Ossip has been appointed deputy mayor with a vote of 7-3.
The 2009 Masada College graduate was elected to the Council in 2012 with a promise to “shake things up and to actually deliver solutions” to overdevelopment and a lack of infrastructure in the St Ives area.
He told The AJN it’s a “great honour” to take up the position.
“I’m delighted to now be able to serve the residents of Ku-ring-gai in this new role,” he said.
“I’m humbled by the support I have received from my colleagues and the community at large. Over the next 12 months, I will dedicate myself to delivering the infrastructure the municipality needs to deal with the population growth we have experienced over recent years.”
He added: “I am extremely proud to be an active member of the Jewish community and I will continue to be a fierce advocate for the interests of my Jewish constituents in the context of my responsibilities to the broader Ku-ring-gai community.”
Ossip said the relationship between the Council and the local Jewish community had improved in the years since it was a vocal opponent of an eruv in the area.
“The relationship between Council and the local Jewish community went through a particularly difficult period during the last term of Council. I’m pleased to say that the relationship has turned the corner, and today Ku-ring-gai Council is extremely sympathetic to, and cognisant of, the needs and interests of the Jewish community,” he said.
He said as Deputy Mayor, he will “continue to publicly advocate for tolerance and respect for all minority groups within Ku-ring-gai”.
“As a community we are richer for diversity and certainly Ku-ring-gai is enriched by the valuable contribution of the Jewish community,” he said.
GARETH NARUNSKY
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