Following the resignation of Cr Kristy McBain as Mayor, council held an Extraordinary General Meeting yesterday to elect a Mayor for the interim period to September, 2020, when the next biennial election is scheduled.
Two candidates nominated for the position: current Deputy Mayor & acting Mayor, Cr Sharon Tapscott, & Cr Robyn Bain.
Unsurprisingly, Cr Tapcott was successful in her bid for the Mayoralty, enjoying the support of Crs Griff, Dodds, Seckold & McBain.
In seeking the support of her fellow councillors for her candidacy,
Cr Tapscott made it clear that her priority if elected would be to continue the pursuit of council’s current priorities in support of the shire’s recovery from the impact of drought, bushfire & the more recent impact of the
Covid 19 pandemic.
This notwithstanding strong criticisms levelled against both the state & federal governments in the past week by former Mayor, Cr McBain, for their alleged failure to adequately support the region through the recent economic crisis.
In support of her candidacy,
Cr Bain argued strongly that council should be using the current political circumstance to leverage greater financial support from both the state & federal governments to underwrite the recovery of the local economy, with the latest economic forecasts suggesting that the
Shire’s GDP had shrunk by almost 10% in the wake of the recent disasters.
Given council’s acknowledged failure to protect the interests of the Shire, the association believes that residents & ratepayers may well have benefited from a change in leadership at a local level, although supporters of Kristy McBain would doubtless be delighted at the prospect of her returning to the Mayoralty should she fail to succeed with her latest political adventure.
The association believes that the only real winner from this morning’s election is council’s general manager, whose position remains protected by a divided council.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begvalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au