Major nightmayor as council CEO quits
THE shock resignation of Gold Coast City Council CEO David Edwards has put a massive dent in Tom Tate’s plans to turbo-charge the economy with major projects like the cableway.
Mr Edwards resigned on Wednesday just three weeks after replacing Dale Dickson as council CEO. His decision to step down is believed to be health related.
However, council insiders warned ratepayers not to expect a Lazarus-type comeback from Mr Dickson, given the way his 18-year tenure ended at City Hall.
Councillors were told of Mr Edwards’ resignation in an email from Mayor Tate about midday on Wednesday.
Mr Edwards took personal leave late last month for an unspecified amount of time. But staff were expecting him to return this month.
Mr Edwards was unavailable for comment.
Council will hold a special meeting next Wednesday to determine how to fill the position.
Mayor Tate declined to comment, saying only: “In respect to council I won’t be commenting until after next Wednesday’s special meeting.”
A council source told the Bulletin: “All the councillors have been given an email.
David Edwards will not be coming back. We think it is for family reasons, due to some ill health.”
The Bulletin announced in late February that Mr Edwards had won the city’s top job. He had served as then Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney’s chief of staff in the Newman government before being promoted to director general of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.
Under the Labor government, he had been the projects chief executive at the Department of Innovation and Tourism Industry Development.
Mr Edwards had been involved with negotiations of the proposed casino-resort planned for Southport’s Carey Park before it was halted by the government, and earlier with Mr Seeney, who pushed unsuccessfully for a casino-hotel development as part of a proposed cruise ship terminal at Wavebreak Island in the Broadwater.
Mr Edwards’ council brief was to turbo-charge the city’s COVID-hit economy, first with a report on a proposed cableway in the hinterland and possibly later with the offshore cruise ship terminal at The Spit.
Mr Edwards had planned to talk to stakeholders on both sides of the political and environmental divides about the major projects.
“Some people in the community have since commented that the selection of the CEO (Mr Edwards) was a predetermined outcome because of the allegiances of that person’s specific experience and the Mayor’s major projects,” a council insider said.
“The Mayor is now confounded. What does he do? His objective is to get his major projects up.”
Insiders say councillors will also have to decide if they go back to the market for a new boss or consider one of
the four other leading candidates in the recent CEO job selection process that included Mr Dickson.
A council source said: “The hope is that councillors will be adult enough about this (and not go back to the market). They will say ‘who are the other four, what are they doing in their life now, are they available?’.
“That is unlikely to include Dale Dickson. You won’t be seeing a Lazarus here.
“That would be very surprising. Does the council just
apologise and say welcome back?”
The Bulletin has been told Mr Dickson has the support of at least seven councillors. Among them were several senior representatives including Glenn Tozer, Peter Young, Daphne McDonald and Bob La Castra.
Those councillors pushing for change and not to renew Mr Dickson’s contract were understood to be Mayor Tate, Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, planning chair Cameron Caldwell and Robina councillor Hermann Vorster.