Cr Kim O'Keeffe will serve a fourth year as Mayor of Greater Shepparton after surviving a "nerve wracking" election that included Cr Rob Priestly being eliminated in a random ballot.
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Four candidates nominated for the position, with Cr Priestly, who stood on an agenda of change, eventually elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor.
Cr O'Keefe said she was honoured and privileged to be given another opportunity to lead the city.
“I'm very overwhelmed with the way we had to elect today, it was very nerve-wracking, and very unfortunate for us to be put in that position, but it is what it is when you have councillors on equal votes,” she said.
“It became luck at the er SHepparton end of the day but I will work hard in the role to do it to the best of my capacity.”
Cr O'Keeffe said there was a great deal of energy in play with six new councillors.
“We all feel this wonderful optimism — and with COVID that is what we need, it is about what we can do for our community.”
Cr O'Keeffe said it was a positive sign that four councillors nominated for the role and that having Cr Priestly as Deputy Mayor, pushing for change in the organisation and for ratepayers, would be a healthy pairing.
“Nothing stays the same; Rob has some great skills, I worked with him very closely through the Committee for Greater Shepparton, we have been to Canberra and Melbourne lobbying together, so we have a history and he will be supportive and an asset.”
With Crs Priestly, Fern Summer and Seema Abdullah all putting their hand up for the mayoral role it seems unlikely that Cr O'Keeffe's term will extend beyond this one-year appointment during the four-year council term.
“I'm quite happy to fulfill this role for 12 months and then support a new mayor,” Cr O'Keeffe said.
“In putting my hand up it was really about having a lot of things on the table. We have a lot of projects; I didn't want to have to go back and restart with a new mayor. Putting me in the role means we can keep going with the many things we have as an ask of government.
“That knowledge and history is really important at this point in time, but going forward I would encourage another councillor to become mayor.”
