New deputy mayor calls for councillors to unite

COUNCILLOR Carol Taylor is planning to use her term as the deputy mayor to unify council members and build a cohesive council.

COUNCILLOR Carol Taylor is planning to use her term as the deputy mayor to unify council members and build a cohesive council.

Cr Taylor became the deputy mayor in a unanimous vote of councillors at the first meeting since the election.

After private discussions ahead of the vote yesterday, Cr Nancy Sommerfield put forward the motion to elect Cr Taylor to deputy mayor, with Cr Bill Cahill seconding the motion.

Cr Sommerfield said she was pleased to recommend Cr Taylor for the position.

"Carol very successfully topped the poll in the election, and I think there are precedents around that for her to be given due consideration for this position," she said.

Cr Taylor said the council needed to harness the commitment, passion and diversity of the team.

"I don't want people to walk away from a meeting feeling they not valued if the vote doesn't go their way," she said.

"I want council to work as a team. I want us to see each other as human beings and I want us to interact a little bit more as people," she said.

"There are some tough decisions to make in there, and we don't all share the same views, but at the end of the day we're people."

Cr Taylor said being promoted to the role was not unexpected.

"Normally the tradition is if you top the poll you're normally deputy mayor ... but I do thank the councillors for their faith in me," she said.

Cr Carol Taylor. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The deputy mayor earns $112,712 a year, compared to $97,684 for councillors.

"I think we've got a very exciting term ahead of us; we've come a long way in the last four years."

Cr Geoff McDonald and Cr Sommerfield were also pitched as frontrunners for the deputy position.

This will be Cr Taylor's third term with the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Mayor Paul Antonio thanked Cr Mike Williams for his stewardship in the role of deputy mayor for the past term.

"Mike, thank you very much for what you've done to support me. There were some very tough moments early on and I appreciate you being there the whole time," he said.

The council chambers were full of onlookers with spectators spilling into the foyer during the meeting.

The new Toowoomba Regional Council (from left) Cr Megan O'Hara Sullivan, Cr Bill Cahill, Cr Nancy Sommerfield, Cr Geoff McDonald, Deputy Mayor Carol Taylor, Mayor Paul Antonio, Cr Mike Williams, Cr Chris Tait, Cr James O'Shea, Cr Joe Ramia and Cr Anne Glasheen. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Originally published as New deputy mayor calls for councillors to unite