Rats in the Ranks

The term of office of the mayor of Leichardt, a small, diversely-populated town in the Sydney suburbs, expires each September. Larry Hand the incumbent mayor, is the most popular candidate, but he has already served threes years running, and the vote is to be taken by the town council. Among its twelve members, some hope that their luck will be in. From Mars 1994 to the decisive 7th September that same year, Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson followed the local electoral campaign, with all the intrigues, myriads tactics, manoeuvrings and reversals that are part of politicians’ politics, both in Australia and elsewhere.