Belinda McNeven, in a show of hands, narrowly defeated the strongest polling candidate at the election, Barbara Hovard to become the council's first deputy mayor.
Councillors adopted the recommendation that the Planning and Development standing committee would comprise all members of council. The mayor has put his hand up to be chair. Planning and Development Committee meetings would be held fortnightly, alternating between Maryborough and Hervey Bay council chambers. The first is scheduled for Wednesday April 9, 9.30 am, at Maryborough.
A total of ten portfolio chairperson's were decided. Corporate Governance, Belinda McNeven; Arts and Culture, Linda Harris; Community and Recreation, Les MucKan; Business Development, Barbara Hovard; Marketing and Tourism, Anne Nioa; Economic Development, Gerard O'Connell; Water & Sewerage Infrastructure, Julie Arthur; Environmental Sustainability, Sue Brooks; Rural & Urban Infrastructure, David Dalgleish; Strategic Policy & Sustainability, Debbie Hawes.
the next ordinary meeting of Council will be held at Hervey Bay Council Chambers, 9.30 am, on Wednesday April 16. Subsequent meetings will be held on the first and third Wednesday of each month alternating between Hervey Bay and Maryborough Council Chambers.
2 comments:
The dirty deeds have started already with Barb Hovard being double crossed on the deputy mayoralty.
What most people don't know is that a deal was done before the election to give Hovard the spot.
It was brokered at a barbeque at Hovard's place to which only sitting councillors were invited.
At that bbq it was also agreed that the sitting councillors would form a loose alliance to support each other's campaigns.
It worked as all 11 positions on the new council were filled by sitting councillors.
What none of the blogs reporting on this issue have stated is who voted for whom.
We know Mick Kruger put his hand up for Belinda McNeven but it would be interesting to know how the rest of the vote went. Maybe Barb can tell us who stabbed her in the back.
Hovard garnered almost 10,0000 more votes than Kruger in the election. She had a legitimate claim to the deputy mayoralty.
You can bet the dirty deeds have begun. That's politics.
Unfortunately the public gallery at Wednesday's meeting was so crowded that it was impossible to see all the councillor's hands when the vote was taken.
I didn't publish that information because some of it would be guess work. I'll leave that kind of reporting to the Chronic. From what I could see the show of hands was five all with Kruger using his casting vote in favour of McNeven. Even that was difficult to guess because I couldn't see him and Kruger mumbled the result so it was difficult to understand what he said.
McNeven was nominated by Debbie Hawes (who now sits on four portfolios as opposed to two for all other councillors except Les MucKan who has none). I didn't see or hear who seconded her. Hovard was nominated by Julie Arthur and seconded (I think) by David Dalgleish.
From my vantage point I could see that Linda Harris and Barb herself voted for Hovard, add those to the movers and seconders and that makes four. On tonight's television news Les MucKan said he voted for Barb. It looks as though the remaining five voted for McNeven.
Backroom deals often come back to bite those who broker them in secret behind the scenes deals of the kind you describe. The strength of Barb's vote leads me to think she should have had the guts/confidence to put herself forward as a Mayoral candidate against Kruger.
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