Dubbo council elects Cr Stephen Lawrence as mayor, Cr Anne Jones as deputy

Cr Lawrence was nominated by Cr Kevin Parker and Cr Anne Jones and as he was the only one nominated, there was no vote.

Cr Anne Jones was nominated by Cr Lawrence and Cr Parker, and again there was no one else contesting the nomination.

The meeting was held on Thursday, one hour after former mayor Ben Shields left office.

Councillors David Grant, Dayne Gumley, John Ryan and Greg Mohr were granted a leave of absence.

The new mayor and deputy will remain in the role until the local government election in September.

In taking the position Cr Lawrence said 'the time for controversy and drama is over'.

"The time for public attacks and criticism is over, now is the time for stability and a community focus and connection."

Cr Lawrence said the "council had many positive achievements, and Ben Shields as mayor had been part of them all."

"There is only one team in my mind and that team is called community."

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

Mr Shields announced he was leaving council on Monday to focus on his mental health.

He told the Daily Liberal he no longer had the strength to battle against the "ridiculous" accusations against him.

"Most Dubbo people can see how ridiculous they are but I can't fight them back," Cr Shields said.

"In previous years as a councillor or even as a mayor a lot of this would be water off a duck's back. I've had code of conduct complaints in the past and I've lived through it but this time I can't do it."

Dubbo Regional Council will also be getting a new interim chief executive officer next week.

Councillors voted at the last meeting for Dean Frost to return to his position as director and Murray Wood, who left council in 2018, to take over the role as interim chief executive officer for 12 months.

More to come.

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