Mayoral vote drawn from a hat

IMAGE: Cr Ingram and Cr Wallace were returned to their roles as Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

Councillor Brian Ingram was voted back in as Hilltops Mayor via a draw out of a hat at the council meeting on Wednesday September 22.

“Call it luck or fate but my name came out first so I remain Mayor of Hilltops until the elections,” said Mayor Ingram.

“I am pleased with the result as it allows me to see out the current term of Council as Mayor and maintain the stability of leadership of Council over the period until 4 December when the Local Government Election will be held.”

Councillor Margaret Roles also stood for the role as Mayor.

Mayor Ingram knew he’d have competition on the day.

Councillors Chris Manchester, Rita O’Connor, Matt Stadtmiller and John Walker supported Cr Roles during the vote; with Councillors Greg Armstrong, Tony Flanery, John Horton and Tony Wallace supporting Cr Ingram.

Votes were divided equally.

The formal term for Mr Ingram’s turn of luck is being “chosen by lot”.

“I was hopeful that I would be re-elected. I was also frustrated that some Councillors didn’t give careful consideration to the impact of a new Mayor being elected for such a short time,” said Mayor Ingram.

Cr Ingram will be standing as a candidate at the election in December and hopes to be re-elected by the community.

“I won’t be campaigning as such as I am busy fulfilling my duties as Mayor. I will continue to do my best as the current elected leader and work every day to deliver Council’s promises to the community,” he said.

“The main priority is to continue to work towards achieving financial stability for Hilltops Council. The delivery of major projects for the community is another priority and it is great to see projects that I have fought hard for progress. These projects include Milvale Road improvements and the replacement of Wambanumba, Hannons, Spring Creek, Cudgell Creek and Bundarbo Bridges.”

Councillor Wallace was elected unopposed to remain in the role of Deputy Mayor.

Hilltops Council Local Government Area elections take place on December 4, 2021 after being delayed due to COVID-19.