Public favourite
YOU can say one thing for Mayor Maree — she knows how to draw a crowd. At Monday night’s meeting of Lithgow Council the turnout in the public gallery was the biggest in recent memory. It was standing room only, and not much of that left either. And it was clear that most of them were there as a show of support for Maree Statham in the mayoral election. The round of applause when the votes were cast shook the room. The display of public support for any member of council was unprecedented in the experience of the Mercury and hopefully the message was not lost on the mayor’s political opponents who never got over the outcome of the last full council election. Clearly there is an overwhelming public mandate at least for the mayor to fill the role to which she was elected.
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Sneaky stuff?
THE mayoral election was clouded by allegations of last minute dirty tricks when a change in the order of business meant anyone in the public gallery was prevented from speaking out in support of the mayor prior to the ballot. Rightly or wrongly there were those in the gallery who believed they had been gagged and they said so in heated criticism of the councillors who had initiated the move. We seem to recall two councillors walking out on a meeting at Portland last year after claiming the gallery was being gagged so perhaps there really is a precedent.
Near miss
IN the tension of this week’s mayoral election Mayor Maree almost voted herself out of a job. As the vote was being taken by a show of hands Maree watched with interest but hadn’t voted. She had to be prompted to raise her hand — by Cr Martin Ticehurst! Just one of life’s little embarrassing moments.
