Tamworth council elections: five newcomers elected to council, biggest clean-out in 15 years as Councillor Mark Rodda declares Tamworth 'voted for change'

Retired Moonbi physiotherapist and first-time candidate Judy Coates was declared elected to the final, ninth seat on council, on Tuesday. She is among five new councillors, the most ever new faces for the Tamworth Regional Council.

It was a long fortnight's wait for the final outcome for incumbent Charles Impey, and Rait Tait, who missed out by just 215 votes.

Russell Webb, who will contest the role of Tamworth mayor with Phil Betts, said it was the biggest change since the 2004 amalgamation.

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Councillor Webb said voters were looking for change.

"There are some things that the city's done extremely well but there are some things that I guess need to be looked at and there needs to be some changes in the way we carry out some of the activities we carry out in and around the community," he said.

"That was a clear message I got in the campaign."

Mark Rodda, who topped the poll, said people had voted for diversity in decision-making, more transparency and better consultation. Cr Rodda has a "page and a half" of policy changes, particularly road maintenance.

"I think that's an emphatic message to our council that people do want change, considering the diversity of the people that were elected," he said.

Council will have little more than two years to deliver, and the pressure will be on, he said.

"Personally I'd like to see less Blueprint 100 and more amenity and more services and more infrastructure maintenance of what we currently have," he said.

"There's no point progressing to a region with a population of 100,000 if we aren't doing those basic important things for the residents that are already here."

Despite winning the most votes of any candidate, Councillor Rodda will not stand for mayor of Tamworth.

He said it would be impossible for him to work as a public servant and serve in a full-time capacity as mayor, which is what he believes the job requires.

Cr Rodda will put his name forward for deputy mayor instead, as will Brooke Southwell.

First-timer Judy Coates is not considering a run for leadership.

Cr Coates, who didn't attend the final vote on Tuesday, said her win was a surprise to her.

She will be one of three women on Tamworth Regional Council, another first, she said.

Her first priority will be to "re-establish a relationship with the outlying communities," she said.

Both leadership positions will be elected as the first order of business for the new council at its first meeting on January 5 next year.

Mr Impey, a school careers advisor, said the fortnight's wait was an anxious one, but he would run again.

Mark Rodda, Russell Webb, Bede Burke, Marc Sutherland, plus Phil Betts, Helen Tickle, Brooke Southwell and Stephen Mears and Judy Coates are Tamworth's new councillors.

Tamworth council will have its first-ever Indigenous councillor and one of its youngest in Cr Sutherland, and its first Labor councillor in years in Stephen Mears.

Cr Sutherland said his first priority would be to seek to understand the work the Tamworth council had done so far to develop a youth strategy.

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