At a sometimes angry meeting, Crs Carol Sparks and Dianne Newman were elected as mayor and deputy mayor of Glen Innes Severn Council.
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It means that for the first time, two women lead the council and also that Glen Innes has a Greens mayor.
In her speech after being elected, Mayor Sparks said: “Dianne and myself are the first two women to form a leadership team and we will be listening up for women’s concerns.
“Our common-sense, combined with our caring natures underpinned by our sense of equity will bring a breath of fresh air to the council
“I am sure that the energetic leadership of Dianne Newman in her role as deputy mayor and myself as mayor will enable Glen Innes and its council to fully move into the 21st century”.
She thanked outgoing mayor, Steve Toms, and Judi Toms for their “years of dedication to the service of the Glen Innes area”.
When the hand-over happened, she and Cr Toms shook hands. He said: “I would like to congratulate Crs Sparks and Newman”.
He said he would “be as supportive as I can be but I will also call out what I think needs to be called out”.
The mayor gets $32,564 and the deputy mayor $17,036 a year, both including $11,860 which every councillor receives.
Despite the magnanimity after the vote, the meeting had been bitter before, though largely with anger turned against David Allenberg, the social media campaigner (or “Facebook warrior”, as the President of the Services Club, Russell Meehan, called him).
Mr Meehan, also rounded on Mr Allenberg for allegedly referring to some people in the town as “oxygen thieves”.
Cr Jeff Smith turned on Mr Allenberg saying that the online abuse was damaging Cr Smith’s health. “My health is starting to suffer”, said the councillor.
Mr Allenberg tried to interrupt and Cr Smith said, visibly angry: “No, you listen to me”. He said he would gladly give Mr Allenberg $20 for a one-way bus ticket out of town.
In reply, Mr Allenberg said that much was wrong with Glen Innes, including the Visitors Information Centre which was “like a Chinese junk shop”.
But this community forum (which was not technically part of the formal council meeting) was very much a side-show before the main business.
In the formal proceedings, there was first a debate about whether the vote should be secret or by show of hands. It was decided to keep it, as before, by secret ballot on slips of paper put into a small box. General Manager Hein Basson was the returning office who supervised the procedure.
The public gallery was full beyond capacity – people were standing in the corridor. At times, Steve Toms’ voice seemed choked with emotion.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor have made the creation of a “youth hub” in the old shire council building their signature campaign. Much will hang on whether they get a large grant from the state which is meant for cultural causes.
Carol Sparks has also campaigned, including with a well-signed petition, to get full-time, 24 hours a day doctors at the hospital instead of the current system where GPs step in.
She is also a member of the Green party and the first Greens mayor of the council.
The Greens have played down the significance of that. They argue that other country towns have Greens mayors and the economic sky hasn’t fallen in.
The Greens, though, did have a photographer at the meeting to document Cr Sparks’ triumph.
