Alexander John McTaggart (born 24 January 1949) is an Australian politician who was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

for

Pittwater Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from th ...

between 2005 and 2007. At the time of his election, McTaggart was also the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Pittwater Council Pittwater Council was a local government area on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It covered a region adjacent to the Tasman Sea about north of the Sydney central business district. The area is named ...

Early life

Alex McTaggart grew up in the

area of Sydney, attending

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

Public School and then St Paul's Catholic College in Manly, before finishing with his Leaving Certificate and then gaining an Associate Diploma of Teaching (Technical) as well as horticulture and landscape design qualifications.

Political career

Following the sudden resignation of John Brogden as Liberal

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and his subsequent resignation from Parliament, McTaggart was elected to the Legislative Assembly in a 2005 by-election for Pittwater in what many considered as a shock result. The Liberals lost over 22 percent of their primary vote from 2003, allowing McTaggart to win with 55 percent of the two-party vote. His victory was cited as a "disastrous loss" for the Liberal Party in a seat it had held for 32 years. McTaggart attributed his election win to his opposition to the television show ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'' being filmed at

Avalon Beach Avalon Beach is a northern beachside suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 28 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beache ...

. In 1999, McTaggart had been a protester against a proposal for ''Baywatch'' to film permanently at the beach. McTaggart was defeated in the 2007 state election, with Pittwater returning to the Liberal Party's Rob Stokes. McTaggart continued to serve on Pittwater Council as a North Ward Councillor, for which he was first elected in September 1999, until its amalgamation into the Northern Beaches Council on 12 May 2016.

Northern Beaches Council

On 12 May 2016, with the release of the ''Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016'', the

Northern Beaches Council The Northern Beaches Council is a local government areas of New South Wales, local government area located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 after the a ...

was formed as per Warringah's submission, from Manly, Pittwater and Warringah councils. McTaggart was then named by Northern Beaches Administrator Dick Persson as a member of the Implementation Advisory Group, one of several advisory committees composed of former councillors and mayors of the three councils. McTaggart then stood as an independent candidate for Pittwater Ward of the Northern Beaches Council and was elected in the second ward position on 9 September 2017. He unsuccessfully stood for re-election to this position at the following election held on 4 December 2021, being excluded on the 11th preference count after receiving 12.68% (0.5 of a quota) of the first preference vote in Pittwater Ward.

References

1949 births Living people Mayors of places in New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians Politicians from Sydney {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub