A second attempt at a mayoral election in Strathbogie Shire has failed to get off the ground, with two councillors announcing they would not attend a reconvened meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Crs Chris Raeburn and Sally Hayes-Burke said they had notified Mayor Laura Binks that they would not participate in a vote for a new mayor, believing it to be even more damaging to the council’s already irredeemably damaged governance.
They have called on the local government minister Melissa Horne to act quickly and announce the outcome of a recent municipal monitor’s report.
Read their full statement here.
The same two councillors left the Council meeting last week before the mayoral election was due to be conducted, to the reported shock and disappointment of the mayor and fellow councillors.
Mayor Binks told ABC Radio last week that she was hopeful the reconvened meeting would proceed.
Cr Robin Weatherald also took to the airwaves, blaming the council’s situation on poor leadership and accusing the mayor of “acting like a schoolgirl.”