Jasmin Jones (front, second from right) was elected Mayor with Kristin Butler (next to her) named her deputy. Photo: Yass Valley Council.
Yass Valley Council will have an all-female leadership team for the first time after editor Jasmin Jones was elected Mayor and dental hygienist Kristin Butler named her deputy.
“It’s very exciting and I’m humbled by the result,” Mayor Jones said.
“We’ve got a wonderfully refreshed team that bring a nice mix of new and returning councillors … we’ve got everyone from returned servicemen, farmers, mums, journalists, dental hygienists and ex-teachers.”
The leadership positions were determined at a special council meeting on Thursday (10 October).
Allan McGrath, 82, who had been mayor during the last term of council, decided not to recontest the position.
“It’s ironic that the outgoing mayor started in local government in 1974, the year I was born,” Mayor Jones said.
David Carter and the Greens’ Adrian Cameron also put their names in the ring for the top job.
In an initial ballot, Ms Jones received five votes to three for Mr Carter and one for Mr Cameron. A second ballot saw the 50-year-old mother-of-five beat Mr Carter five votes to four.
Jasmin Jones was galvanised into running for council after having a baby on the side of the road. Photo: Facebook.
Councillor Butler was elected Deputy Mayor unopposed after Adrian Cameron decided to withdraw his nomination.
“As a duo, Kristin and I have been working together for the last three years fantastically,” Mayor Jones said.
”I encouraged her to run when she was advocating for a playground for Murrumbateman. I supported her with chairing the playground committee … that will be delivered early next year.”
Mayor Jones previously worked as a journalist and moved to Yass from Canberra 13 years ago.
“I expected a quiet country life here until I had a baby on the side of Barton Highway and started advocating for health services,” she said.
”I was aghast at the gap between rural and metropolitan health services. That never used to be there.
“We went from having no midwife to having a part-time one and then a full-time one and the icing on the cake was the federal commitment of $4.7 million for a mothers’ hub of pre and post-natal maternity services. The sod will turn on that project before the end of the year.
”We’ll have a raft of services we’ve never had before. That was the result of 12 years of lobbying.”
The new Mayor, who is also editor-in-chief of visitor guide This Week in Canberra, says it will be a challenging time for all councils over the next few years as they compete for limited state and federal finances. But she has pledged to continue advocating for her region.
“From an infrastructure point of view, we need to ensure the water is always safe to drink in the Yass Valley. We’ll be delivering a full upgrade of our water-treatment plant by 2027,” she said.
Loading ...
