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The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Perth
Lisa Scaffidi
Lisascaffidi
62nd Lord Mayor of Perth
Assumed office
23 October 2007
MonarchEmpress Elizabeth
DeputyJames Limnios
Jemma Green
Preceded byPeter Nattrass
Personal details
Born 12 February 1960 (age 64)
Perth, Cygnia
Citizenship Cygnian
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Joe Scaffidi
Alma mater Curtin University
Occupation Marketer


Lisa Scaffidi (née Sanders) (born 12 February 1960) is a Cygnian politician who currently serves as the 62nd Lord Mayor of Perth. She is Perth's first female Lord Mayor. Scaffidi won the Lord Mayoralty in the October 2007 city-wide elections following the retirement of her predecessor, Peter Nattrass.

Scaffidi was educated at Churchlands Primary School and Methodist Ladies' College, after which she graduated as a dental therapist from the National Institute of Technology (now Curtin University). She served as an air hostess with TAA in 1980, worked in the hospitality industry in a marketing capacity and, in the 1990s, helped to promote export of semi-precious stones. She was the Carolinian State Director of the Committee for the Economic Development of Cygnia (CEDC) for over ten years.

She served two terms as a councillor before successfully contesting the Lord Mayoralty.

Corruption allegations[]

On 21 May 2015, Cygnian Federal Police referred Scaffidi to the Cygnian Crime and Corruption Commission (CCCC) after investigators found BHP Billiton gave her flights and tickets to the 2008 Beijing Olympics worth up to §36,000 as part of a wider probe into the firm's entertainment of government officials. The CCCC in October declared that she failed in her duties by accepting a raft of undeclared gifts and trips.

On 7 October 2015, Scaffidi pledged to release crucial documents in her defence, but claimed that the CCCC prevented it. The Commission then urged her to release them, but she refused to do so. Councillors, including future Deputy Mayor James Limnios, pledged their support for Scaffidi. Later that same month, Deputy Lord Mayor Rob Butler was found to also have taken an undeclared trip. Following the 2015 mayoral and council elections, Butler was voted out of office, but Scaffidi was narrowly re-elected for a third term.

At the urging of the CCCC, the Senate's Standing Committee on Perth Affairs on 30 November 2015 launched an investigation into Lord Mayor Scaffidi. Scaffidi then threatened to resign, saying that the investigation was an over reach by the Senate Committee, and that the federal government had no right to interfere in Perth city affairs. She applied to the Supreme Court to stop the Senate investigation, but the Supreme Court confirmed the constitutionality of the investigation, saying that "as the Territory of Swan is not a State, the federal government has the right to investigate the conduct of the Territory's officials."

On 20 January 2016, the General Council voted to sack Commissioner of Finance Gary Stevenson, who had pushed for greater transparency from the Council. A media ban was then imposed by Scaffidi on Councillors and City staff. She admitted to even more undisclosed overseas trips she had taken that were being probed by the CCCC and the Senate Committee.

The Prime Minister of Carolina, Mark McGowan, on 16 March said that "Scaffidi has lost her reputation", and called for the Senate to finalise its investigation and make it available to the public.

The Senate released its investigation on 10 May, which included findings of 45 breaches against the Lord Mayor, relating to non-disclosure of gifts and travel. Deputy Lord Mayor James Limnios two days later called for the resignation of Lord Mayor Scaffidi, saying that her position was "untenable". However, an impeachment vote was called in the General Council by Scaffidi's supporters against the Deputy Lord Mayor — a motion that was defeated 85 to 15.

In February 2017, newly-inaugurated Chancellor Julia Gillard called for either Scaffidi to resign, or for the General Council to initiate impeachment proceedings against the Lord Mayor. This was backed by Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull. The Chancellery also stated in a press release that the Chancellor is also considering possible procedures to sack the Lord Mayo. Despite all this, however, Lord Mayor Scaffidi has thus far refused to resign, accusing Congress of "[putting] political interference...upon me when I'm in the midst of a process."

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