THE Central Western Daily has been inundated with comments and letters from its readers in the wake of Tuesday night’s deputy mayor’s election.
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At the Orange City Council meeting, councillors elected Sam Romano to the position, ending Joanne McRae’s one-year tenure in the role.
Below is a fair representation to the comments made by our readers via letters, emails and social media comments …
WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY ON THE DEPUTY MAYOR’S VOTE
“As our elected representatives our local councillors believe that Cr Sam Romano can do a better job as deputy mayor than what Cr Joanne McRae had been doing. Based on the vote and the fact that they are supposed to represent the people then the assumption must be that their views reflect similar views to the community. The vote for the deputy mayor is a secret ballot. Why? Let’s have every vote at council open for public scrutiny and transparent”
Matt Jeffery
“I am sure Joanne McRae will feel the personal loss of losing the deputy mayor’s position, a job she grew into and performed with energy and intelligence. The big losers are the Orange community. Let’s hope it's a minor setback on her way to the top job.”
Wade Mahlo
“Such a shame. Joanne actually seemed to be a breath of fresh air in an otherwise staid, old council. It was great to see her involved on many levels in our community. Keep up the good work, Joanne.”
Diane Alexander
“This actually makes a lot of sense. The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party got by far the largest vote out of any of the groups in Orange in the elections this time last year, so in actual fact Sam’s election to deputy mayor is actually more representative of what the people of Orange wanted. I’m sure he will follow in Philip Donato’s footsteps and do all he can to deliver for the people of Orange.”
Keith Drain
“An unbelievable result. Councillor Joanne McCrae is one of the few more articulate, well-researched, hard-working and genuine councillors currently in office. Apparently she is a threat to the establishment. How sad that is, and discouraging for other aspiring female Councillors.”
Neil Jones
“Jo not only did a super job, she also used social media extremely well to get the message across about what council was up to at the governance end which gave a larger and younger audience insight and opportunity to easily participate. I'm completely gutted.”
Samantha Spence Hain
VIDEO: What happened at the council meeting …
“So sad to see council's decision to promote a male into the position of deputy mayor. So much for the meeting held last Thursday on the ‘future of Orange’. Obviously this future doesn’t include female participation and advancement. It's a sad day for Orange.”
Willemine Drage
“Disappointing that councillors couldn't see the enormous merit in continuing to support the only representative of 50 per cent of the community demographic who was doing a great job in the deputy mayor’s role. Of course it’s reasonable for others to want to give it a go. It would be nice to think it was because they feel they can better represent the whole community from the deputy mayor’s position and not just a new qualification on a resume.”
Nella Powell
“This is maddening. Why on earth would you vote to replace the most popular leadership Orange City Council has had in years? If we needed anymore proof that council is out of touch with the town, here it is.”
Kelly Rimmer
“This decision shows just how out of touch many of our councillors are. Jo has done a fantastic job during her year as deputy mayor. She is articulate, does her research well, and has done an excellent job promoting Orange as a progressive, vibrant place. It is a shame that those who have been there far too long decided to remove her. Her commitment is to the Orange community alone.”
Peter Reid
“We can all just hope Joanne goes for mayor now. Orange needs the progressiveness of younger people in our council and she has done a fantastic job so far as deputy mayor.”
Sally Paddles
“Orange City Council has effectively demoted its most committed and articulate communicator. And in so doing, have returned to the status quo of ‘The Boys’ Club’. The diversity must have been too much to bear.”
Julie Proctor
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