AS EXPECTED, councillors Paul Maytom and George Weston have been returned as Leeton Shire Council mayor and deputy mayor respectively.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With a vote to be held at the first meeting of the new council on Wednesday evening, there was only the one nomination for each role.
In conducting the election, returning officer, general manager John Batchelor, first indicated only one nomination had been received for the position of mayor and declared Cr Maytom elected to the position of mayor.
After first determining whether a deputy mayor would be elected, Mr Batchelor followed the same procedure by announcing just the one nomination for the role and Cr Weston was declared the winner.
It is Cr Maytom's eighth term as mayor after first being elected to the role in 2004-05. He served consecutive terms until 2007-08 when Joe Burns was elected mayor, before being re-elected to the role in 2008-09 and retaining it since then.
"I thank the councillors for putting their faith in me," Cr Maytom said.
"Overall, I am exceptionally proud to be working with the group we have.
"We have a lot of new staff around us and they are working extremely well with us to ensure the expectations of the community are being met.
"I am extremely proud of the councillors and extremely proud of the staff. They are doing a good job, but in saying that it doesn't mean we stop."
Cr Maytom said the shire was prosperous in many areas and many people commented to him how good a place Leeton was to live.
"We have a lot of good comments out there," he said. "Council as a whole has made a lot of good decisions."
Cr Maytom welcomed new councillor Steve Dowling to the role, as well as Michael Kidd, who has returned to council. He thanked Cr Weston for his continued support as deputy.
"He helps a lot, to talk to on a lot of things," Cr Maytom said.
"It is not just a 'me'-type thing as a mayor. It is a mayor and deputy."
Cr Weston will be serving his sixth term as deputy, all under Cr Maytom. He was elected in 2004-05 and served until September 2006, when Jack Egan took on the role. Cr Weston returned in 2008-09, before Cr Tracey Valenzisi served in 2009-10.
Cr Weston has been deputy mayor since 2010-11.
"I thank you for your trust in returning me to deputy mayor," he told the councillors.