Cr Rowena Black has been defeated and Federation Council will appoint a new deputy mayor.
Federation mayor, Cheryl Cook has been re-elected unopposed, but in a shock vote, Cr Rowena Black lost her bid for re-election as deputy mayor.
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Cr David Bott was elected to the position in a secret ballot at today’s ordinary meeting of Council.
Federation Council’s mayor and deputy mayor roles are contested every two years.
Voting was conducted via secret ballot, and the final vote count was not revealed.
Before the election, Cr Cook moved to revert the voting process back to a secret ballot and away from the open voting method used in the previous mayoral elections.
She said it had been the consistent practice of Federation Council in the past and as such would like to see voting return to that process.
“It's a decision that's made between nine councillors, it's not made by the public,” Cr Cook said.
“I think it's more harmonious for our council people, (in case) it gets nasty, which it doesn't, our council is fantastic.
“It's always been that way.”
Cr Black told the Free Press she was disappointed at not being re-elected.
“Previously we had a quite open, transparent ballot,” Cr Black said.
“To suddenly have a secret ballot again was disappointing; I didn't feel like it was very open.
“A few people asked me to consider running for mayor, which I had considered, but I was always going to run for deputy.
“I felt like it wasn't the right time to run for mayor this time.
“That’s politics though, we just have to get on with the work of doing what we can as councillors and make the best decisions we can.”
Newly elected Federation Council deputy mayor, Cr David Bott with re-elected mayor, Cr Cheryl Cooke after Tuesday’s council meeting.
Cr David Bott said he was pleased with the result and cited a need for stronger leadership as his motivation for nominating.
“We've got some tough times ahead of us, both financially and throughout Federation Council,” Cr Bott said.
“I believe I bring some skills to that in regard to strong leadership.
“It's an opportunity to put forward some strong views that provide the rate-paying community and the broader community of Federation with some tangible outcomes.
“It's difficult to do that from the floor, but as a deputy mayor, you've got a seat at the table, so to speak.
“I think I’ll bring accountability, transparency and strength to that role.”
Cr Bott also praised Cr Cook on her re-election as mayor and said it was a fitting result after having shown strong leadership these past two years of her term.
Cr Cook was grateful for her re-election and thanked her fellow councillors for giving her their trust and support.
“I will continue to work hard for my community, continue to engage with people out there, and meet and greet and do as I've always done,” Cr Cook said.
“We've got some big things happening in this space in the coming year, particularly in regard to financial sustainability for councils across the state.
“I enjoy the role, I love what I'm doing, and I love being amongst it, so thank you for your support.”
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