Zoe Moffatt
Macedon Ranges councillors have voted to keep East ward councillor Annette Death as mayor for another term, with West ward Cr Janet Pearce voted to take over as deputy mayor.
In a meeting on Tuesday morning, November 21, Cr Death secured her second term as mayor with five votes. Cr Pearce was the only other councillor to be nominated for mayor and received four votes.
She then went on to win the deputy mayor role over councillor Jennifer Anderson, who held the position for the 2022-23 term.
Speaking at the meeting, Cr Death said the tone of an organisation’s culture is set by the leadership and she has demonstrated her ability to ensure collaborative engagement.
“The role of mayor for me is about all of us as a team and working together with executive leadership and our community,” she said.
“The tone of an organisation’s culture is set by… leading by example and demonstrating good code of conduct.
“Over the last 12 months I’ve made a real effort to encourage and facilitate diverse conversations in a respectful environment.”
Cr Death said it will be very important to hit the ground running leading into the final year in the year of this council.
“We have many important strategic items before council over the next 10 months and it will be a race to the finish line to complete everything we hoped to achieve.
“It’s a privilege to be elected for a second term as mayor and I’m excited to continue the great work that has already been started.”
Cr Pearce said strategic planning and team building is important to her as a councillor and in a leadership position.
“There are many areas of focus as we know and as you are aware, probably teamwork, the community and governance has been some key focus points for me,” she said.
“Everyone brings something different, I think change assists people [with] opportunities to grow in different ways.
“I’m looking forward to working together… to achieve some wonderful outcomes in our final year of this term.”
