SIMON Clemence will lead Mildura Council for another term after a shock mayoral re-election on Wednesday night.
Tight-lipped Cr Clemence gave away no clues of renominating in the lead-up to the election and defeated front-runner Cr Jason Modica by five votes to four.
Cr Clemence will continue alongside Cr Min Poole, who was voted in as deputy mayor ahead of Cr Helen Healy and Cr Anthony Cirillo.
While Cr Clemence admitted he was hesitant about committing to a second term, he said he was motivated to reconsider after learning the “majority” of councillors wanted him to remain as mayor.
“It wasn’t until Cr Gavin Sedgmen came and spoke with me just a day or so ago and I almost felt obliged,” he said.
“I didn’t actually go out and seek from any councillor their support … they came to me and asked me to be mayor. That gave me the incentive to go forward.
“We had negotiations and discussions … all councillors do that. It’s a democracy and at the end of the day, if you get the numbers you get the numbers,” he said.
“If five councillors think you’re more suitable than the other guy … well then you do what you do.”
Cr Simon Clemence has been voted Mayor of Mildura Rural City Council while Cr Min Poole has been voted Deputy Mayor.#mrcc #MayoralElection #mildura pic.twitter.com/ZJLH13btWj
— Mildura Council (@MilduraCouncil) November 6, 2019
Councillors Glenn Milne and Greg Brown nominated Cr Clemence to continue, with councillors Poole and Sedgmen casting their votes in favour.
Cr Clemence said he was “heartened” about continuing his work as mayor and looked forward to tackling the “big issues” over the next year.
“The last 12 months have been huge … if someone was to say to me ‘what did you do over the last 12 months’… I’d say I tackled the big issues,” he said.
“I tackled, well now, the drought … the farm worker issue … farm worker accommodation … Amendment C89.
“They’re all issues I tackled head-on based on concerns of the constituents and I’ve worked very hard with our state and federal governments to try and address those issues to make a bit of headway.
“Obviously they’re still ongoing issues, but we’ve certainly got an indication that some of those will go in our favour. “
The public gallery was full of intrigued Sunraysia residents, who watched the election unfold and applauded as Cr Clemence and Cr Poole were elected.
While Cr Poole did not nominate for the mayoral position as she intended, she was excited about serving as deputy mayor alongside Cr Clemence.
“Over my time, there has been three mayors and there hasn’t been that continuity there … not just for us nine but for the whole community,” she said.
“It’s not my turn to be mayor yet … but more than happy to be Simon’s deputy.”
Cr Poole said she entered the new role without a personal agenda and with the community at the forefront.
“I’m always looking progressively and improving the wellbeing for our locals,” she said.
“With our current nine councillors heading into our first and last year together … teamed with CEO Sarah (Philpott’s) first year with us and our great experienced managers we have at council … we will steer the delivery of over 100 services we provide throughout 2020.”
Councillors will return to the chambers on November 27 for the next ordinary meeting.
