AHEAD of the second year of Mitchell Shire’s council term, it was time last Monday night to elect a Mayor to take charge ahead of the 2025/26 period.
Incumbent Mayor Councillor John Dougall again put his hand up for the role, but was challenged by Cr Nathan Clark, while there would be a new Deputy Mayor after Cr Bob Cornish elected not to run for the position again, with Crs Timothy Hanson and Andrea Pace stepping up to the plate for the role.
Cr Dougall was nominated for the role of Mayor by Cr Ned Jeffrey, while Cr Clark self-nominated.
In spruiking his candidacy for a second term in office, Cr Dougall spoke about his time serving his first term.
“I am keen to do so for a range of reasons, but I just want to outline how important I believe this role is at this particular time for Mitchell,” he said.
“We have perhaps one of the biggest challenges across the local government sector in terms of managing the very demanding challenge of growth across Mitchell Shire. It’s a huge challenge, it comes with huge opportunity, and we want to preserve the best bit that makes Mitchell such a rural character.
“That has been truly inspiring for me to see the level of character and the level of investment made by our members and residents across Mitchell for their own communities.”
Cr Dougall highlighted the growth the Shire was experiencing as another reason to stick to the status quo.
“I do think we have good momentum. I do think that our engagement with the community has worked well, representation has been effective, the council plan, I think, will unlock a lot of organisational improvement. I get a sense that we are really starting to hit some organisational alignment and focus,” he said.
“I really think that working with advocacy groups and stakeholders has been effective, and we can leverage these, and I’m hope to do so through the state election process.”
In making his case for the Mayoralty, Cr Clark believed that a rotation system was the best way for the Shire to move forward.
“Rotating the Mayoralty is one of the cleanest, fairest way to make that real. When councillors know that they will have the same opportunity in turn, people will lean in and contribute,” he said.
“When one person or one faction hangs onto the role year after year, it starts to look like the office is being distributed undemocratically and the community’s broader interests might be neglected.”
Cr Clark outlined three reasons why he should be Mayor, with the incoming quarry in Beveridge front of mind, but also wanted to be a Mayor who wanted to hold healthy arguments for the future of the Shire.
“This is not a promise to be a decorative Mayor or a consoling one, it is a promise to be a difficult one for the right people,” he said.
“So, the choice before you is brutally simple. Do you want another quiet year in which we behave, and we’re rewarded with more mines, more centralised poor planning, more people losing faith in the point of voting at all? Or do you want a Mayor who will say clearly and repeatedly that this is not good enough and demand publicly that it change?”
Cr Dougall scored six votes, from himself, Crs Riley Evans, Claudia James, Pace, Cornish and Jeffrey, while Cr Clark scored three votes, himself, Crs Bob Humm and Hanson.
In regaining the Mayoralty, Cr Dougall said there was ‘unfinished business’.
“The responsibility that this provides is not lost on me. It’s very demanding, it’s onerous, and at a time when we need to put the best foot forward, I’ll take that extremely seriously,” he said.
“There’s a way to go there, but I think we’re making some really good inroads.
“I feel like there’s lots of unfinished business, and I’ll be keen on embedding a number of mechanisms that are partly under way.
After that, it was time to elect a Deputy Mayor, with Cr Hanson and Cr Pace staking their claims.
Cr Hanson said his experience as a lifetime local was a benefit.
“I believe I can provide practical strong leadership to our council and most importantly to our growing community of Mitchell Shire,” he said.
“In my 39 years I’ve only spent two years away from Mitchell Shire. I was born here, I’m raising my family here, and over my life, I’ve lived in Seymour, Wallan, Kilmore, Broadford, Beveridge and finally settled back in Kilmore.
“That journey has given me a deep understanding of our region, our values, our challenges and opportunities.
“In my first year in this role, I focused on learning the job properly, listening, observing and understanding how council operates and how good decisions are made.”
Cr Hanson said the time was right to step up.
“Some of you may wonder if I’m the right choice because I may not be the loudest in the room, but I won’t speak just to fill an empty minute. When I do speak, it’s because I’ve thought it through and it’s meaningful, and it’s the approach I’ll bring to leadership,” he said.
“I see this role as an opportunity to give back to help strengthen what those before us built and make sure the Mitchell we hand over to the next generation is even stronger.”
Cr Pace said her flexibility would make her the best candidate for the role.
“After everything this council has worked so hard to rebuild – the trust, stability and confidence, the strongest message we can deliver to our community is simple – we chose the best person for the job,” she said.
“That is far more powerful than any postcode on a map.
“Every week, I am out in Beveridge, Wandong, Wallan, Kilmore, Pyalong, Tallarook, Seymour, not because I have to be, but because I believe visibility and presence matter.
“Importantly, I can fully support the Mayor and CEO. We’ve all seen what happened in the past when capacity issues affect the role. I am in a position to give this everything it requires.
“For me, this isn’t about status, it’s about service. It’s about availability and commitment. Those are my strengths. At this point, I sincerely believe I am the right person for the job, not because I live in the right place, but because I can do the work, support the team and represent our community with energy, professionalism and consistency.”
In a closely run vote, Cr Hanson gained the support of Crs Evans, Clark, Cornish and Humm, while Cr Pace scored votes from Crs Dougall, James and Jeffrey, leading to a 5-4 win to Cr Hanson for the role of Deputy Mayor.
