Mayor and councillors

Representation on committees

• Local Traffic Committee
• General Manager Performance Assessment Panel
• Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils
• Sydney Airport Community Forum
• Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel

Previous council terms

• Elected to Leichhardt Council in 2008
• Mayor of Leichhardt Council: September 2012 to September 2014 and September 2015 to May 2016
• Mayor of Inner West Council: September 2017 to September 2021, December 2021 to September 2024, and October 2024 to present.

Background

Chloe Smith is a lifelong Inner West resident currently renting in Petersham with her partner.

Growing up, Chloe attended local public schools and was active in the local netball club. After completing a university degree in International Studies and Government Relations, she worked for four and a half years as a policy and projects officer at the manufacturing workers’ union. Some of her proudest achievements include campaigning to invest in domestic manufacturing jobs and working with communities in the Hunter to transition away from coal.

Chloe currently works in a campaigns role. She is a passionate unionist, feminist, and advocate for social justice and quality public services. In her spare time, she enjoys barracking for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, watching Newtown Jets’ home games at Henson Park, and exploring our wonderful Inner West restaurants and cafés.

Aims as a councillor

Our Council should work for residents, delivering the best possible public services and getting the basics right. This includes managing our waste, maintaining our roads and footpaths, investing in our parks and recreation facilities, and protecting our green space.

It should also be a champion for the issues that matter to our community, showing the way on social justice and equality, meaningful action on climate change, multiculturalism and diversity, fair and transparent planning, and supporting our arts and culture sector.

Chloe’s key priorities include:

• Revitalising our main streets and supporting our local economy, with an activation plan for every village across the Inner West.
• Boosting our arts and creative industries, retaining the Inner West’s reputation as the heart of Sydney’s live music scene, and investing in public art and performance spaces.
• Taking real and meaningful action on climate change at the local level, protecting and enhancing our tree canopy and our urban environment.
• Ensuring that the Inner West keeps the diversity that makes our communities strong and inclusive, with equal access and respect for all regardless of income, age, gender, sexuality, disability, or culture.

The Inner West is a great place to live and work – let’s work together to make it even better.

Representation on committees

• Alternate on the Local Traffic Committee

Contact

• Email: Chloe.Smith@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
• Twitter: @CrChloeSmith
• Facebook: /Chloe4Stanmore
• Instagram: /chloesmith2049

Background

Liz has lived on Gadigal land in Damun Ward since 2000. They brought up two sons in the Inner West and understand the issues that concern families and young people, as well as older residents.

Liz is a lawyer and a former senior public servant who worked in government for more than 30 years. A former Deputy CEO at the Australian Government's anti-money laundering agency, AUSTRAC, they know about running an agency, bringing teams together and achieving goals within budget.

They have been an active campaigner and volunteer in the LGBTIQ+ community for over 2 decades and have been active in campaigns for refugees, climate justice and local issues such as WestConnex, particularly as a member of Riff Raff Radical Marching Band.

Aims as a councillor

Liz believes our community should be diverse and connected. It should be somewhere that everyone can find a place to live close to work and study, feels safe and doesn’t have to look too far for interesting things to do. They argue Council can foster this by building more affordable housing, strengthening policies to mitigate climate change and implementing lively and accessible cultural and community activities. They want better ways for the community to tell councillors directly about their concerns and ideas.

Liz wants to make a difference on issues like waste and recycling; making our suburbs attractive and inclusive for all; reducing the harmful effects of climate change, including by increasing our tree canopy; cleaning up our streets and recognising walkability as a key transport component; improving accessibility for people with disability and others; improving and creating green spaces; reviving our local nightlife and finding ways to help our artists and small businesses recover after the pandemic.

Representation on committees

• Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee
• Customer Service Review Committee

Contact

• Email: Liz.Atkins@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
• Phone: 0407 239 951
• Twitter: @liz_greens
• Facebook: /lizatkinsgreens
• Instagram: liz.atkins.18

Representation on committees

• Major Capital Projects Committee
• ClubGrants
• Cooks River Alliance Board
• Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils

Contact

• Email: jessica.darienzo@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
• Phone: 0408 505 622

Background

Philippa Scott is a lifelong Inner West local, and an experienced governance, policy and management professional, committed to social justice.

In 2021, she was elected as a Labor Councillor for the Leichhardt-Gulgadya ward. Philippa served as Deputy Mayor for the term 2022-2023.

Before politics, Philippa worked as a lawyer, and governance and policy manager in the not-for-profit and public sector, including at the University of Sydney, UTS, the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW (now a part of the NSW Department of Justice), and Salvos Legal Humanitarian, and as a Director of Metro Assist, a migrant resource centre serving the Inner West and Canterbury-Bankstown LGAs.

Philippa holds a combined Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws degree from the Australian National University, a Master of Laws (Honours) degree from UTS and a Master of Education degree from the George Washington University in Washington D.C.

Philippa has two children in local public schools. She is President of Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt P&C and a member of Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay P&C.

Aims as a councillor

Philippa cares deeply about ensuring that the Inner West remains a vibrant, functional, accessible and fun community for people of all languages, abilities and economic backgrounds. She is committed to creating the conditions for a diverse, vibrant and inclusive community to exist.

Her policy priorities include:

• Main street revitalisation and development, and developing strategies to activate, beautify, and support main streets in every suburb in the local government area.
• A stronger local economy, supporting businesses, community organisations and workers to reinvest in the common wealth of the Inner West.
• Boosting our arts and creative industries and supporting the Inner West’s place and reputation as the heart of Sydney’s live music scene and nightlife, with more public art, the creation of Special Entertainment Precincts and making permanent the recent changes to enhance outdoor dining.
• Ensuring that the Inner West keeps the diversity that makes us strong. All people in the Inner West have the right to access our community irrespective of their income, age, gender, culture, sexuality, or disability, and our policies, services and planning should reflect this commitment.

Representation on committees

• Member, Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee
• Member, Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel
• Alternate member, Parramatta River Catchment Group
• Customer Service Review Committee
• Major Capital Projects Committee

Contact

• Email: Philippa.Scott@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
• Twitter: @CrPhilippaScott
• Facebook: /PhilippaForLeichhardt

Background

Mat Howard lives in Marrickville with his husband, kids and border terrier, Rocky. Prior to working in politics, Mat worked for over a decade in the arts and not-for-profit sectors, mainly in theatre for young people. Mat is a committed LGBTQ+ advocate, having served as Chair of Rainbow Families NSW for four years, where he contributed to campaigns for marriage equality, policies to include LGBTQ+ parented families in the Baby Blue Book, and developing resources to support transgender and gender diverse parents. Mat has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Performance Studies and a Masters of Politics and Public Policy. 

Aims as a councillor

Our council should deliver the world's best public services and get the basics right, including managing our waste, fixing potholes, mowing verges and upgrading footpaths. It should also be a champion for the progressive issues that matter, showing the way on social justice, climate and renewables, multiculturalism and diversity, fair and transparent planning and arts and culture.

Representation on committees

• Flood Management Advisory Committee
• GM Performance Assessment Panel
• NSW Public Libraries Association

Contact

• Email: mat.howard@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
• Phone: 0412 645 115
• Facebook: /matformarrickville
• Instagram: /matformarrickville