And it is no surprise considering she is only the fifth woman elected to the role, following Margaret Stevenson, who served from 1984-85, Marlene Farrell in 1985-86, Joyce Hawkes in the late ‘80s and Pam Ryan in 2007-08. 

“I feel excited, but I also feel a little bit of a responsibility, a weight upon my shoulders to lead Orange, to work with the mayor and all the councillors,” Cr McRae said. 

“I am the only woman on the council but I think I provide an opportunity for some of the young people of Orange to have a role model to aspire to be like.”

She said it was an exciting time for the council and her priority was transparency and accountability in the chamber.

“I think it’s important that we sort out very quickly the recording of meetings to avoid any issues with minutes and details and allegations and codes of conduct so for me, it’s about getting the process right,” she said.

But the result could easily have been very different.

Six councillors nominated, including Cr McRae and councillors Glenn Taylor, Kevin Duffy, Tony Mileto, incumbent Jason Hamling, and later Scott Munro after correcting his nomination form to include his name. 

Four rounds of voting ensued with several draws from the box to eliminate candidates tied on low votes – Cr Duffy was excluded first, then Cr Munro, Cr Hamling and Cr Mileto, leaving the final vote at six-all.

Tuesday night’s livestream of the vote, fast forward to the eight-minute mark:

Despite a joke between Cr McRae and Cr Taylor there might have to be a dance-off for the job, Cr McRae’s name was pulled from the box. 

Mayor Reg Kidd said he had known Cr McRae and her family for many years and encouraged the fledgling councillor to stand. 

“What you get from Jo is what she means, I know if she doesn’t agree with me, she’ll tell me and that’s really important in any relationship,” he said. 

“I’m very much looking forward to working with her.”

Cr Taylor wished his opponent well, saying if the dance-off had occurred, he still would have lost.

“I’ve won two ballots previously from draws out of a hat, so that’s the way it goes,” he said.

“I was encouraged by other councillors [to run] and I didn’t make a conscious decision ‘til late, but I’m pleased now I did, because it did come down to the hat and that’s encouraging I’ve got the support.”