‘I won’t sell the farm’: Terry James beats Brett Olds as councillors vote for Cairns’ next leader
The city’s third mayor since amalgamation in 2008 insists he’ll serve more as custodian before council enters caretaker mode in late January.
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Cairns’ new mayor has defended his appointment, declaring his fellow Unity team councillors were right to vote him in despite an election being less than four months away.
After narrowly defeating Division 9 councillor Brett Olds in Wednesday’s meeting, Terry James promised he wouldn’t “sell the farm” before voters head to the ballot box in March.
The city’s third mayor since amalgamation in 2008 insists he’ll serve more as custodian before council enters caretaker mode in late January.
“It’s a real privilege to have been chosen by my fellow councillors,” Mr James said.
“It is only for three-and-a-half months. In the meantime, it’ll be business as usual. I won’t sell the farm anytime soon. I look forward to the challenge.
Mr James disputed claims that by assuming the role he gained an unfair advantage over fellow mayoral candidates Paul Taylor, Amy Eden and Denis Walls on the hustings.
“It depends on my performance. It could go the opposite way as well,” he said.
“We have to go through this process. It’s a democracy. We respect everyone’s opinion and I allowed them (other councillors) to talk about that today (at the meeting).
“Having said that, the decision has been made and we’ll move on.”
Following former mayor Bob Manning’s retirement last Friday, rumours emerged that another Unity candidate may be nominated.
But Mr James said Unity’s four other councillors were always voting for him.
“That’s exactly the vote I expected,” he said of his 5-4 win.
“That was just Brett Olds or the independent (councillors) talking about that.
“That was never the Unity team’s agenda. I made it known that I’d be the mayoral candidate for next year. I’m the leader of the team and that’s how it worked out.”
It has been a long journey for the Cairns businessman, having served as a councillor for more than 20 years in three separate stints.
“It takes a while for any councillor to get their feet under the table and understand the issues,” he said.
“You’re still learning every day. I’ve been around for 22 years now.
“I’m quite confident I can do the job.”
Having served for more than a decade as deputy mayor, Mr James was more than qualified for the job, Division 8 councillor Rhonda Coghlan said.
“This is about continuous strong leadership for our residents and staff,” Ms Coghlan said.
“It’s about the confidence of the city … to see the ship is steered, it has a rudder and we don’t change direction mid course.”
Mr James declined the opportunity to wear the formal mayoral chains as is customary upon assuming the role.
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