SAMANTHA McIntosh is the Mayor of Ballart for the third year running, and Jim Rinaldi is her new deputy, following a council meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n
Both councillors were elected with a simple majority of their peers and both saw off challenges from others on council.<\/p>\n
Cr Daniel Moloney and Cr Mark Harris both put in for the top job while Cr Belinda Coates nominated for the deputy role.<\/p>\n
Yet the voting didn\u2019t go beyond one show of hands for either position as both winners secured five votes first time, meaning no one needed to vote for the other candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honoured and excited, as well, to be reelected as mayor of the City of Ballarat,\u201d Ms McIntosh said.<\/p>\n
Upon donning the mayoral robes and chain the freshly reminted mayor spoke about challenges and successes facing the municipality and growth in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this points to a city that\u2019s thriving, that\u2019s bold, that is a true regional capital to which our council plan aspires to.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the half way mark of this council\u2019s term there is much to be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also spoke about the importance of family when in public life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important for us to recognise each of the councillors around the table here tonight have family and friends who support them and help them make wise decisions,\u201d Ms McIntosh said.<\/p>\n
While the City council isn\u2019t required to elect a deputy mayor, they chose to, with Mr Rinaldi now taking over the job from Mr Moloney.<\/p>\n
After his victory Mr Rinaldi briefly spoke about his goals for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to working alongside the mayor and my councillor colleagues to continue to achieve great success for out city of Ballarat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After the meeting Mr Moloney was conciliatory about the challenge and subsequent result, which he said was a double edged sword.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s understandably disappointing but on the same token Sam is one of the hardest working people I know, so I know that she\u2019ll do an absolutely incredible year-three, as she has for the first two,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only disappointment really, I suppose is that the vote has gone exactly the same way, with the same people voting the same way for three years in a row now, so I suspect we are a one mayor council for now.<\/p>\n
Following the vote Mr Harris, a self-described centrist, maligned the factionalisation of council members<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a constituency of nine\u2026 and it doesn\u2019t change over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreasingly councils, particularly larger regional councils, are perhaps beset by political groupings. So we\u2019ve got a larger Liberal group\u2026 and because of that the decision making is rather closed, so you would have seen that in the voting.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when you see the voting for the mayor and deputy mayor, they are basically the alt-right candidates and they get the first round of voting and it\u2019ll never change. So disappointment is perhaps not quite the word, it\u2019s inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
As soon as Ms McIntosh was re-elected some sections of the crowded gallery broke into applause and cheering.<\/p>\n
Following the voting the winners were presented with flowers while family members of Ms McIntosh and Mr Moloney also received gifts acknowledging their role in supporting the office holders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SAMANTHA McIntosh is the Mayor of Ballart for the third year running, and Jim Rinaldi is her new deputy, following a council meeting on Monday. Both councillors were elected with a simple majority of their peers and both saw off challenges from others on council. Cr Daniel Moloney and Cr Mark Harris both put in […]<\/p>\n