Persistence, teamwork and community are key themes for Mayor of The Central Coast, Lawrie McKinna. 

Lawrie was born in Galston, on the West Coast of Scotland, and when he was two-and-a-half, his family moved to Australia. He lived in Sydney for two years then moved to Auckland, New Zealand, before returning to Scotland when he was five. At school, Lawrie was obsessed with football. He began his sporting career as a striker with Galston United, then was striker with junior side Darvel before signing with local professional club, Kilmarnock, in 1982. 

Lawrie moved to Australia in 1986 and went on to play for several clubs in the National Soccer League and state leagues. His coaching career began in 1992 as Assistant Manager with Blacktown City. In 1995 he was a player/manager for Hills United before going on to hold the Assistant Coach role with Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Parramatta Power Football Clubs. 

In 2002, Lawrie’s management career took off with Northern Spirit and he won the National Soccer League ‘Coach of the Year’ Award after taking the team to their first finals campaign in three years. He has also coached Chinese Super League Club Chengdu and China League One side Chongging Lifan. Lawrie is credited with establishing the region’s first A-League sporting team, the Central Coast Mariners, who he coached to two grand finals, as well as winning a minor premiership and pre-season cup. He served as Head Coach from 2005 to 2010 and Director of Football for the Central Coast Mariners, winning the A-League ‘Coach of the Year’ Award during the 2005/2006 season, and became the Mariner’s Ambassador in 2014. In June 2016, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Newcastle Jets and was in the role until 2021. Lawrie is well known in football and business circles. He served as Chair of Regional Development Australia Central Coast from January 2021 to 22 October 2024 and is currently on the Board of Directors at Sydney Olympic Football club, formally the CEO from January 2022 to December 2024.

Lawrie’s political career began when he became a Councillor for the City of Gosford in 2012. He was elected Mayor and served until the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong in 2016. Lawrie led Team Central Coast in the 2024 Council elections and is now Mayor of The Central Coast for the next two years. He is honoured to have been elected Mayor and is delighted to be serving the community he loves once again. 

Lawrie and his wife Christine have been married for 44 years, have two sons and two grandsons and have lived on the Central Coast for 20 years. He describes making the decision to move his wife and two young boys to Australia to play football as one of the toughest, but most fortunate, of his life. Lawrie believes that he’s learned a thing or two about teamwork over his career. He’s keen to use his team-building skills to lead the new Council as they work together to serve the community.