Kenrick Winchester and Esma Livermore will resume the leadership positions they held before the council elections. Photo: Facebook.
Mayor Kenrick Winchester and deputy mayor Esma Livermore were re-elected to their leadership roles at a special Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) meeting on Wednesday (9 October).
Both had been re-elected to the 11-member council at the 14 September election.
“I now get a four-year crack at the top job and I’m humbled and honoured by the support of our entire community,” Mayor Winchester wrote on Facebook.
“Exciting times ahead. Most love of all to my wife Kathy without whose support I couldn’t be the leader I am.”
An open ballot at the council meeting saw Cr Winchester defeat Liberal-aligned councillor Ross Macdonald seven votes to four.
His success comes four months after he suffered a heart attack following a ParkRun event in June.
Cr Winchester was first elected to the Queanbeyan City Council in 2012 before its forced merger with the Palerang Council in 2016. He took the reins as Queanbeyan-Palerang Mayor in 2022.
He led council when it applied for a controversial Special Rate Variation (SRV), which will result in a substantial rate hike over the next three years. The mayor said with QPRC not financially viable, the increase was needed to avoid cuts to staff and services.
Esma Livermore became the first Indigenous deputy mayor for Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council in 2022. Photo: QPRC.
Councillor Livermore, aligned with the Labor Party, defeated Mareeta Gundy seven votes to four to become deputy mayor. She also expressed her gratitude at being re-elected to her leadership role on Facebook.
“Congratulations Kenrick Winchester on your re-election to Mayor. A big thank you to everyone for your support especially councillors Bryce Wilson and John Preston,” she wrote.
Councillors Wilson and Preston had also been elected to council on the Labor ticket at the September election.
Three Liberals, Cr Macdonald, Mark Schweikert and Morgan Broadbent, Greens’ Katrina Willis and independents Bill Waterhouse, Steve Taskovski and Cr Grundy were also elected to council.
In 2022, Cr Livermore became the first Indigenous deputy mayor of a Queanbeyan council.
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