Councillor Chris Cherry will be the new Mayor of Tweed Shire until September 2023, following a Mayoral election at an Extraordinary Meeting of Council this afternoon.
Cr James Owen also nominated for the position of Mayor.
In a show of hands, Cr Cherry received 5 votes – from Councillors Reece Byrnes, Meredith Dennis, Nola Firth and Warren Polglase as well as herself. Cr Owen received 2 votes – from Councillor Rhiannon Brinsmead and himself.
This is Cr Cherry’s second term as Mayor, after holding the position from September 2020 until the election in December 2021. She was first elected to Tweed Shire Council in September 2016 as an independent and previously served as Deputy Mayor in 2016/17, 2018/19 and in 2019/20.
Cr Cherry, who will serve in the role until the mid-term mayoral election in September 2023, welcomed the opportunity to represent the community as Mayor once again.
“I’m incredibly honoured and humbled to be returned as Mayor and feel my previous work has been validated,” Cr Cherry said.
“There has never been a more important time for the Tweed in terms of balancing the growth in population moving forward.
“There is a need for more housing in the Tweed so we can ensure our children have somewhere to live in the future. But we need to manage this growth without compromising the incredible environment and lifestyle of the area in which we live.
“I look forward to working together with our new team of Councillors – everyone here wants to make Tweed a better place to live.”
The returning Deputy Mayor is Councillor Reece Byrnes, who will be in the position until December 2022. The other nominee for the position was Cr James Owen.
Cr Byrnes was appointed with a count by 5 votes to 2, along the same voting lines as the Mayoral vote.
Councillor Byrnes, a Labor representative who became the youngest Councillor elected to Council in 2016 when aged 28 years, previously served as Deputy Mayor in 2017/18 and again in 2020/21.
“I’m honoured to be re-elected as Deputy Mayor for Tweed in 2022,” Cr Byrnes said.
“I thank my colleagues for their support and congratulate Cr Cherry on her re-election as Mayor. It was a privilege to nominate and support her for this important role.
“I wish to thank the residents and ratepayers of the Tweed for their support. It’s a challenging time for the Tweed, but I’m going to fight every day for the issues important to you, your family and our community.”
Mayoral elections are conducted by their fellow councillors in 92 of the 127 Councils in NSW, including at Tweed Shire Council.
Councillors are currently participating in a comprehensive induction program, developed in line with the Office of Local Government, to prepare them for the rigours of the role.
The new Councillors will serve a reduced term of 2 years and 8 months as a result of the 2020 election being rescheduled.
