Glenn Taylor elected deputy mayor in 'naked' Orange council ballot

And for the first time in all those years Cr Taylor got to see exactly how the numbers played out thanks to a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Orange City councillors voted for the deputy mayor at Tuesday night's meeting by a public show of hands, instead of the normal secret ballot.

With mayor Reg Kidd and Cr Joanne McRae participating online a secret ballot could not be held as they could not cast votes.

"Everyone was almost naked," Cr Taylor said.

"It took all the agendas away, people had nowhere to hide."

Cr Taylor won the final round of the ballot by six votes to five from Cr Tony Mileto. The other candidates, councillors Scott Munro and Kevin Duffy, were eliminated in the first two rounds.

Cr Taylor said he received votes from where he expected to get votes but was still surprised by the rare event.

"Absolutely. I thought I'd seen it all. I've seen all the Machiavellian games over the years. "I've seen the numbers swing and change in the last hour before the ballot," he said.

Cr Taylor said it was time council methods were updated to keep pace with changes brought on the pandemic.

"It's got to happen. Zoom, not actually physical attendance at meetings is going to be common place," he said.

"If a councillor isn't physically there, there [should be] an open vote."

And he has a message from any knockers concerned at not seeing a fresh deputy mayor.

"I'm a refreshed deputy mayor," he said.