By JO HARRISON
ARMIDALE Dumaresq Council has chosen ‘a new approach’ over experience electing relative newcomer to local government Laurie Bishop as Mayor.
Cr Bishop ousted former mayor Jim Maher by six votes to four at Monday’s election, gaining favour with his more consultative approach.
Cr Jenny Bailey was elected Deputy Mayor, also by six votes to four, over former deputy mayor Herman Beyersdorf.
Cr Colin Gadd moved that both candidates have the opportunity to address the council prior to voting in the Mayoral Election.
Cr Maher spoke of his significant achievements whilst mayor and his 10 years of experience in local government. He also told fellow councillors how he had done enough to warrant a second term and of his dedication and hard work with a ‘lot of runs on the board’.
Cr Bishop spoke of his considerably less experience in comparison to Cr Maher, however that he would tap the wealth of expertise and breadth of knowledge of all the councillors.
He spoke about the need for a change of approach and collectively delivering outcomes for Armidale.
Former Mayor Jim Maher was disappointed with the outcome but said he would continue to work hard as a councillor for the city that he loves.
“I am extremely disappointed, I have worked many long hours and have worked hard to make Armidale a better place to live,” he said.
“I believe our city has advanced economically and we achieved a lot over the last year, but unfortunately I didn’t have the majority of support in the council itself.
“I polled extremely well out there in the community, I think I am highly regarded in the community as a mayor but I didn’t have the numbers today.”
Mayor Bishop has a background in research and development in the automotive industry. He and his wife relocated to Armidale four years ago. He said that he has many priorities as Mayor but industry for Armidale was a very important part of that vision.
“If someone had suggested to me four years ago when we first came to Armidale that I would be standing here today or in fact being a councillor, I would have said there was no way,” he said.
“But I just saw an opportunity to use some of the skills and expertise of my past which will allow me to in turn draw on the skills and expertise of some excellent councillors that we have on this council and drive us even further than what we have been able to achieve over the last year.
“Cr Maher put a huge amount of time into serving the community, he did a fabulous job and he is a great statesman but my approach is to try to engage with all of the people and utilise all of the skills that they bring to the table.”
New Deputy Mayor, Cr Jenny Bailey is a fresh face on the council but a familiar one in the community.
She said that as the first woman in one of the council’s top two positions in almost 20 years, she has an important role to play, particularly in “softening the masculine edges” of her Mayor and those ‘blokey’ councillors. Cr Margaret O’Connor is the only other woman on the council.
