New England North West local government leadership under the microscope as mayors weigh in on vacancies, changes

With some elections postponed another year due to the pandemic, the extra 12 months has given some mayors, especially those new to the seat, the opportunity to sink their teeth into the role for a longer term.

For others at the helm, the added time placed an unforeseen burden on plans to retire, or call time while the going was good.

Tamworth, Moree, Upper Hunter, Armidale and Liverpool Plains have had, or will have leadership changes; some waiting out their term, with others calling it early.

Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray has previously confirmed he will not be running again at the next elections in September.

He was elected in 2010, and has held down the Tamworth office for over a decade.

Moree Shire Council mayor Katrina Humphries has also announced her 13 year tenure will also be up at the next election, citing the desire to strengthen familial bonds.

Other mayors like Liverpool Plains Shire's Andrew Hope called time, with Cr Doug Hawkins OAM taking his place in September. He had been mayor since 2014; six years in the top seat.

The "shock" resignation of mayor Wayne Bedggood from Upper Hunter Shire Council prompted an extraordinary meeting in June last year. Cr Maurice Collison has been mayor since.

In Narrabri, Cr Catherine Redding did not recontest the position at a council election last September, and Cr Ron Campbell was elected unanimously to serve the balance of the mayor's term before elections this year.

Armidale Regional Council has undergone numerous changes and controversies over the last year, after a coup involving seven councillors in January to remove then mayor Simon Murray.

Upon return from their June suspension, councillors unanimously elected Dr Ian Tiley as the Armidale mayor, to serve until September 2021 when the next elections will be held.

Running again

Inverell, Gunnedah, Gwydir, Tenterfield, Uralla and Walcha councils have remained steady during this time.

The Leader spoke to the mayors holding these seats to determine what future leadership could look like for their constituents.

Sentiment around running again is torn in half: some are dead-set keen on running again, while others are sitting on the fence or tentatively giving the nod. None have said outright that they wouldn't run.

Gunnedah, Inverell, Uralla and Tenterfield mayors already know they are putting their hats in the ring again.

Their desire to continue lies in seeing through projects already underway, and to continue working for their communities with more experience behind them.

Gunnedah mayor Jamie Chaffey has successfully been elected for three consecutive terms, and is looking forward to running again "with the support of the community".

"I only scraped through the first and then ran unchallenged at the last one," he said of his previous elections.

"I am absolutely being challenged in the role, I've had a lot of personal growth, but been very encouraged by what the position in civic leadership can achieve."

Paul Harmon, Inverell's mayor since 2012, felt he still had a lot to offer the Sapphire City locally and at a state government level.

Standing as the mayor at the 2016 election, his constituents knew he'd be pursuing a Special Rate Variation (SRV) and, tellingly, he was elected anyway.

"I think I still have a lot to offer in representing them at a local government level, both here amongst our councillors, but also with country mayors and at a state level," he said.

Tenterfield Shire Council, being right on the border, has suffered tremendously from the "overnight" changes brought by COVID, but the troubles are not deterring mayor Peter Petty from sticking around.

"I'm suffering from unfinished project syndrome," he laughed.

"And those projects are not just me, it's about a united council working together. I am happy to do another term and be involved in council at this level."

Uralla mayor Michael Pearce said it'd be "nice to hang around".

"At this point I am quite happy in the role and will chug along and continue," he said.

He said he knew that Cr Murray and Cr Humphries were planning to retire.

"Both those guys have been around for a long time, and it can be a drain. And Andrew Hope, I wish them all the best," he said.

"They've done their time, they've done the hard yards, but I will miss them. It's a close little club, the mayors' club ... it's a peer group we come to depend on."

Eric Noakes, Walcha's mayor, said at this stage he was also running again, being relatively fresh in the job and still motivated to get the best outcomes for his community.

"For someone who comes from a non-government background, it takes about two or three years to get your head around it, to really understand the process, and maybe 40 to fully understand the process," he laughingly admitted.

Glen Innes mayor Carol Sparks and Gwydir mayor John Coulton are both on the fence.

Cr Coulton said his 12 years as mayor had been a "big commitment", but he still had a few months to think about it.

"It is a long time, and it's a fairly big commitment. I am intending to stand again, but haven't fully decided," he said.

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On the other end of the experience spectrum, Cr Sparks said after serving her first term as mayor, she welcomed the opportunity to cement her knowledge in another year of office brought by the pandemic.

However, while loving every second of leading the Glen community, she said it was a long time until September, and was weighing up personal choices for a while longer before committing to running again.

"As far as being the mayor, I think it would be very good to stand again, because I've had a very active and positive role, and I really enjoyed it," she said.

"But there are personal things happening so I am waiting to see how they pan out in the next few months."

It hasn't been an easy ride, this last year, for local government, which has perhaps exaggerated some pre-existing cracks in resolve. Some challenges have been around and will remain for a while, like the task of meeting the communities' needs with the funds available from rates.

"That funding gap between maintaining and improving our infrastructure compared to the amount of revenue we are able to generate through our rate base - it's challenging and as cost factors get large... yet our revenue isn't growing at that same rate," Cr Harmon explained.

For Cr Noakes, he said the biggest challenges came when council was unable to directly help.

"A lot of the things that challenged us haven't been things that council could fix, drought, bushfires and even COVID - which was probably the biggest thing that council could set up plans for ... but council can't stop the drought. But we can be there for the community," he said.

"It's no use doing a high profile job like this unless you are really motivated. Once the motivation goes you shouldn't be there for the number."

Cr Coulton said emphatically that it was "an absolutely wonderful time" to be in local government.

"I think all rural councils have been, inundated is a fairly strong word, but we've been receiving a lot of funding from state and federal levels," he enthused.

"We had drought recovery and now COVID stimulus. It's a tremendous time."

He said the challenges for them would come after that money ran dry in around 12 to 18 months, coming back to live "within our means".