This afternoon Tweed Shire Council will be electing a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
The Tweed Shire Councillors elect their mayor every two years and elect their deputy mayor every year rather than electing the mayor by popular vote.
Current Tweed Council Mayor Katie Milne is stepping down and won’t be seeking reelection after five years in the role of Mayor. Councillor Milne had served as Deputy Mayor prior to becoming Mayor, she will remain a councillor until the next elections in 2021.
‘I have felt extremely honoured to serve as the Mayor of Tweed Shire for the last five years,’ she told Echonetdaily.
‘I have worked hard to steer Council on a concerted path to sustainability, to give more weight to the input of the community, to recognise the importance of our internationally significant environment, and for more appropriate economic development.’
Two candidates for Mayor so far
Currently there are two candidates that have nominated for the position of Mayor. One of the candidates is current Deputy Mayor, Independent councillor Chris Cherry and the other has not yet announced their candidacy publicly.
‘Candidates have until 2pm today to nominate,’ said a spokesperson for Tweed Shire Council.
‘Deputy Mayor Cr Cherry has expressed an interest in the role of Mayor for the last year of this term of Council and I am more than happy to support her aspiration,’ said Mayor Milne.
‘Cr Cherry has demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to the Tweed community over the last four years and for many years prior to that in a voluntary role.’
Deputy Mayor
Tweed Labor Councillor Reece Byrnes has nominated for the position of Deputy Mayor. He has previously served in that position for a year. Currently there are no other candidates for Deputy Mayor, but again nominations don’t close until 2pm today.
‘Cr Byrnes is keen on gaining experience in a leadership role as Deputy Mayor which will free me up to a certain extent to care for my mother who has had some serious health issues of late,’ said Mayor Milne.
Following the close of nominations for the position of Mayor and Deputy Mayor at 2pm there will be open access for the public to speak on issues of concern. This will be followed by an extraordinary meeting at 3pm to elect both the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor before the ordinary meeting is commenced.
Link into Tweed Council meeting
You can access the Tweed Shire Council meeting online from 3pm via this Council Meeting link. The meetings are currently closed to the public owing to COVID-19 restrictions.
‘I thank my fellow Councillors for making this the most collegiate Council in Tweed’s history to my knowledge, to the community who has put their faith in me, and to all the Council staff for their enormous support,’ said Mayor Milne.
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