Cr Des Kennedy will lead Mid-Western Regional Council until 2020 after being elected at September’s ordinary council meeting.
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Cr Sam Paine was elected as deputy mayor following an announcement that Cr Paul Cavalier would not stand for the Deputy role.
Cr Paine was voted in as Deputy Mayor in a 6-2 vote with councillors Esme Martens and Alex Karavas voting against.
Cr Karavas also nominated for the role of deputy but was defeated in that subsequent vote.
In a statement to the Mudgee Guardian, Cr Paine thanked his peers and recognised his predecessor’s hard work.
“It’s an honour to have my fellow councillors entrust me with this position. Paul has set a great example as a deputy mayor who is accessible to all and speaks for his community, and I hope to continue that in my own way,” he said.
“We have a group of councillors that generally gets along and always works together to strengthen, improve and advance the Mid-Western Region. And the people who work at council are the most talented, hard-working and forward-thinking people in our region. Between us, I look forward to being part of the community’s development over the next two years.”
In a Facebook post, Cr Cavalier thanked the Mid-Western community for the opportunity to serve as Deputy and for the people in the region for putting their trust in him.
“I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sam Paine on his election as Deputy Mayor of the Mid-Western Regional Council this evening,” he wrote
“After recently taking up a full time position with Fire and Rescue NSW in Sydney, and having become a father just a few months ago, I didn’t feel that I could continue giving the position the commitment it deserved, and did not feel that it would be the right thing to do to the ratepayers by standing for re-election at tonight’s Council meeting,”
“I wish Sam the very best in his new role. I have no doubt he will put his heart and soul into the position and continue delivering for our region. I wish both Sam and Des Kennedy the very best for the next two years in their positions.”
The council report for September’s meeting states:
Please note that sections of the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Act 2016 were given assent on 30th August 2016, one of those amendments relates to section 230 changing the term of the Mayor from 1 year to 2 years.
This amendment means that council will not need to elect a new mayor or deputy – pending exceptional circumstances – until September 2020.
