I'M not sure whether it was a case of irony, hypocrisy, plain old bulldust or a misguided attempt at political comedy — but take a bow Don Page.
The NSW Minister for Local Government on Monday congratulated the council election candidates. (So far, so good).
But, then he offered the bold advice that councillors should deal only with council matters and not dabble in issues "best left to the federal arena".
Magnificent.
So, on Saturday, what did Mr Page's own Campbelltown Liberal party comrades have to say about important local matters (such as roads, parks, libraries and rubbish) on their placards outside the polling booths?
Not much.
The only Liberal signs we saw were the ones referring to the federal carbon tax.
And, just in case local voters mistakenly thought a council election was about, um, council issues, another Liberal Party sign urged people to use their council vote to send a message to federal Labor.
It was cynical, it was misleading and it was very clever.
I'll refrain from any more comments on the way the Lib campaign was run; I'm sure it had many genuine votes, too.
One intriguing result of the Liberal success will be two new faces on the council — Cr Ted Rowell and Cr Alana Matheson.
Their surnames might sound eerily familiar (hello Jai and Russell) but, in fairness, they both strike me as personalities who want to make their own mark. And, after chatting with them on Monday night, I gather they want to make those marks with a certain generosity of spirit. If that's the case, I can only wish them well.
As for the ALP team, congrats on not being wiped out.
It probably says a lot about the community's respect for Anoulack Chanthivong that the local ALP vote (at a time when federal and state Labor stink) stayed relatively healthy.
In fact, congrats to all those who were — or are about to be — elected to our council.
Few of them would have a bigger, broader grin than the ubiquitous Fred Borg, who achieved a whopping slice of the independent vote. A rather glaring gold stamp, Fred.
But, alas, I also note the huge amount of votes that went to that mysterious candidate called Informal.
What a sign of the political times, his success was.
jmcgill@fairfaxmedia.com.au