YOUNG, FEMALE AND MAYORAL

Comment: It’s no longer rare for women to be elected Mayors but the recent elevation of three Sydney women looks like a first because each is thirtysomething – a welcome change from the old image of the big-bellied, sixtysomething guys who used to have a lock on local government’s highest office. According to the Sunday Telegraph of 18 April, 2004, last week saw the election of Alice Murphy, 30, as mayor of Leichhardt; Joanne Morris, 31, as mayor of Hurstville; and Julia Finn, 31, mayor of Parramatta. Big jobs in important areas. You go, girls!