Councillor Claire Pontin was elected as the new mayor of MidCoast Council in the mayoral election held at the first meeting of the newly elected council in council chambers on Wednesday, January 12.
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Councillor Alan Tickle was elected deputy mayor.
The votes were conducted by a show of hands, the only method possible as Cr Peter Howard attended the meeting via zoom.
There were three nominations for mayor: Cr Pontin, Cr Peter Epov and Cr Kathryn Bell.
Cr Bell received no votes, with Cr Peter Epov receiving four votes (Crs Epov, Peter Howard, Dheera Smith and Kathryn Bell), and Cr Claire Pontin receiving seven votes (Crs Pontin, Paul Sandilands, Katheryn Smith, Alan Tickle, David West, Jeremy Miller, and Troy Fowler).
This is the first time MidCoast Council has had a woman mayor. However it is not the first time the former Taree municipality had a woman mayor - Geraldine Richardson held the position of mayor in the 1950s - approximately 70 years ago.
The position of deputy mayor was contested by Cr Tickle and Cr Bell, with Tickle receiving seven votes (Crs Pontin, Sandilands, Kathryn Smith, Tickle, West, Miller and Fowler) and Cr Bell receiving four (Crs Epov, Howard, Dheera Smith and Kathryn Bell).
Cr Pontin and Tickle will hold their respective offices of mayor and deputy mayor until the next local government elections to be held in 2023.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
