Edwina Farquhar has won the vote.
The small business owner has beaten Joy Mingay after five rounds of voting during the special meeting.
Ms Farquhar and Ms Mingay embraced after the latter's name appeared on the screen.
Toowoomba council endorses small business owner Edwina Farquhar as 11th councillor after five-round vote
The Toowoomba region's newest councillor says she's ready to hit the ground running after being endorsed by her new colleagues. Read her profile here:
A small business owner and community organiser has become the Toowoomba region's newest councillor - and has six months to get up to speed.
Edwina Farquhar said she's "excited" by the challenge presented, after she was endorsed out of 23 candidates for the vacant position by the 10 sitting councillors.
Ms Farquhar, who runs several businesses including the popular Finch Cafe with her husband Dan and is involved in multiple community groups, pipped small business veteran Joy Mingay at the final ballot.
It took five rounds of voting at Tuesday's special meeting for councillors to come to a decision through their determined optional preferential system, where the 10 officials could vote for up to two candidates.
The field of nearly two dozen candidates, which included community organisers, small business owners, professionals and regular citizens, was whittled down to 10, five, four and finally two.
Ms Farquhar was visibly stunned when she was announced as the winner, embracing Ms Mingay following a process that took nearly three hours.
She was supported by her husband, children Polly and Rose as well as mother Jayne.
The mother-of-two and employer of more than 50 people said the appointment was "overwhelming", but felt she was up to task.
" I didn't think it would get to five rounds, and I was nervous during the rounds because there was such a huge number of high-quality candidates," Ms Farquhar told News Corp.
"It says the council were looking for someone with my skill-set and background in business," she said.
"I run my own business, work with large groups and businesses, manage budgets and have the skills to fill in with this temporary role until March.
"It is six months until the March election so the goals will be to meet with each of the councillors and understand the needs and wants and where I can be best prioritised over these months."
Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald, who described the lengthy process as "democracy in action" during the meeting, said he was delighted with the result.
"What I'm most buoyed by is we thought carefully about how we would do this," he said.
"There was no rule book for this one, so we worked through it as a council group and we got an outcome through a democratic process and that's what the community wants."
Mr McDonald said he already had a role potentially lined up for Ms Farquhar, given her experience in financial management.
"It's a steep learning curve but there are some real upsides with Edwina and her background, around marketing and financial management," he said.
"Councillors had spoken about the potential given that my role is the chair of finance and business, which could do with another person in there.
"Edwina will slot beautifully into finance and business strategy, so that will be a good way for her to understand all of the business."
Ms Farquhar will be sworn into the position officially on Wednesday.
WHO IS EDWINA FARQUHAR?
A noted small business owner, Edwina Farquhar is known for owning the Finch cafe with her husband as well as her involvement in various school, community and charitable causes.
While she said her experience in business would aid her on council, she described herself as a team player.
“It’s about using my existing experience and further helping the Toowoomba community,” Mrs Farquhar said prior to Tuesday's vote.
“That’s where it comes from – I really love this city and I’d love to help into the future.
“I’ve got a business and communications background, we’ve got 50 people working under us and I’ve managed big budgets, but I’d like to understand the gaps (on council) and find out where I could help the existing councillors the most.”
Mrs Farquhar said CBD activation, infrastructure and tourism would be among her focuses if endorsed as a councillor.
“I see the biggest opportunities as I’d like to help with general infrastructure and tourism to the regions, as well as access to the CBD,” she said.
“We could look at creating other events to bring more people to town so they can spend more money.”
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Updates
New councillor decided
Councillor voting enters fifth round
A fifth round will be requiring, with two candidates remaining. Either Edwina Farquhar or Joy Mingay will recieve the role, with councillors to cast the ballots one more time.
Mayor Geoff McDonald called it "democracy in action".
Both Scot McPhie and Eakraj Adhikari have been eliminated.
Fourth round of voting needed
A fourth round will be required to find a winner for the vacant position.
Four candidates are left – Joy Mingay, Scot McPhie, Edwina Farquhar and Eakraj Adhikari.
Six votes are required for the winning candidate, but since just one person was eliminated in the third round, more rounds could be required.
Eakraj Adhikari said he was feeling nervous, noting he didn't believe he'd get this far into the process. He also praised the "high quality" field of candidates.
"When I saw my name in the second round (I was happy), I breathed a big sigh," he said.
A wide variety of experiences within our four final candidates – a multicultural advocate, a small business owner, an environmental expert and a prominent community member. Of the four, two were 2020 candidates and two are new to the arena.
Voting enters a third round
Councillors look set for a third round of voting, after none of the 10 second round candidates reached the required six votes.
It appears councillors will be asked to fill out new ballots, choosing from an even smaller group of candidates.
The candidates with two or more votes have remained and include Eakraj Adhikari, Doug Allen, Edwina Farquhar, Scot McPhie and Joy Mingay.
Second round of voting begins
The councillors will go to a second round of voting, after 10 candidates received votes from the 10 councillors.
The 10 are: Eakraj Adhikari, Doug Allen, Edwina Farquhar, Penny Houlahan, Scot McPhie, Joy Mingay, Brett Mullen, Yousef Romieh, Mikaela Smith and Jane Summers.
Councillors are busy filling out new ballot sheets.
Wait continues for a result
As councillors and candidates wait to see who has claimed the 11th councillor position, Joy Mingay said the process was "probably the fairest way they could've run it".
She also spoke glowingly of the candidates who interviewed for the role, calling it a strong field.
Voting begins
Councillors are now filling out their ballot sheets. The 10 councillors will either vote for one or two councillors, writing either a "1" or "1 and 2".
The first candidate to earn six votes is declared the winner.
Jane Summers
Former UniSQ professor and chair of Southern Queensland Country Tourism Jane Summer said she would be an ideal candidate for the role.
"I am no stranger to governance, honing my skills in ethical leadership," she said.
"I've read the councillor code of conduct – this demonstrates my commitment to this role."
She also spoke about her commitment to inclusion and "the highest standards of commitment".
Yosef Roumieh
Syrian Christian migrant Yosef Roumieh highlighted how he spoke four languages, had strong connections to Toowoomba's multicultural community and how he helped migrants with education and employment opportunities.
"I have business backgrounds which will help me to work in this council," he said.
Andrew Reeson
Small business owner Andrew Reeson spoke about his background in manufacturing and his passion for community work.
"After my son was born, I had to sit down and think about my impact on the world," he said.
He said his community of Harlaxton had "a lot of need", and said local government had the potential to improve the lives of residents.
Mr Reeson brought a case study about an elderly lady whose life had been affected by what he called poor planning outcomes decades ago.
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