IT was one of the most contentious mayoral elections Cootamundra Shire Council has seen in years but in the end the top two jobs remain unchanged with Councillor Jim Slattery named mayor and Councillor Dennis Palmer deputy.
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In the weeks leading up to Monday night’s ballot, ousted mayor of 12 months ago Cr Doug Phillips mounted a public campaign to announce his intention to throw his hat in the ring.
In the end, a vocal outcry from members of the public to “Bring back Doug” amounted to nothing as the vote of the nine publicly-elected representatives was what mattered.
As things got down to business on Monday night, another former mayor in Cr Paul Braybrooks asked that the numbers for and against each candidate not be made transparent in the interest of anonymity - a request which was granted.
In previous years, while it has not been revealed who voted for who, it was stated how many votes each candidate received.
Cr Braybrooks argued it was not difficult to work out who voted for who based on the number of votes and thus this information should be precluded from the public.
The election process is a simple one with councillors asked to make their choice on a piece of paper before handing it back to general manager Ken Trethewey who made the short, simple announcement “Cr Slattery remains mayor” after he counted and recounted the votes.
The deputy position was then handed unopposed to sitting deputy Dennis Palmer.
Cr Slattery took a moment following his election to speak about his past 12 months as mayor and encourage growth in the shire in future.
“To be elected mayor is an honour,” Cr Slattery said.
“Over the last year, Council has been responsible for many significant outcomes for Cootamundra. We can be very proud of the achievements that have been commenced or completed,” he added.
He stated that with state and federal contributions to local government decreasing, the council faces a financial challenge but is up to the task.
“Our general manager and staff have assured me that ratepayers will continue to get value for money,” Cr Slattery said.
He pointed to the new ownership of the abattoir by Manildra Meats, the expansion of Cootamundra Oilseeds and the success of the soil rehabilitation facility as some of the positive opportunities the shire has to capitalise on.
Your say...
FOLLOWING the election of Jim as mayor over fellow candidate Doug Phillips here is what some Cootamundra Herald Facebook followers had to say…
Sue Brown
“Really like both of these men... Congratulations Cr Jim Slattery.”
Gil Kelly
“The decision of these Councillors will turn out to be a grave mistake for themselves. A loss for all of Cootamundra which I’m sure people won’t forget at the next local government election...I believe Doug is the best choice for Mayor.”
Julie Bradley
“Well done Jim Slattery.”
Janelle Johnston
“Bring on the next local government election and I am sure a lot of the nine councillors elected this time will not be elected again. Doug was by far the most popular candidate as elected by us the people of Coota and should have been made mayor.”
Helen Morgan
“Why can’t we have elections for mayor by popular people’s choice, as other towns and cities do? Perhaps we should start a campaign for a change to council rules to allow this to happen.”
John Harriott
“Time to change how the mayor is picked why should we the public even vote.”
