The race for Wyndham’s mayor remains an open field one week out from the mayoral election, with at least four councillors eyeing the role.
Reigning mayor Henry Barlow and councillors Peter Maynard, Josh Gilligan and Mia Shaw are all considering throwing their hat in the ring next Wednesday, when the council will elect a new mayor for the following 12 months.
If re-elected, it will be the fourth time around for Cr Barlow, who also served as mayor in 2000-01 and 2004 during his first stint as a councillor.
“I would love to do a second year, however the tradition of this council is to have a different mayor each year, and I expect that’s what will happen,” Cr Barlow said. “To be the mayor is a great honour, but it’s also a very busy one.”
Deputy mayor Kim McAliney has ruled out putting her hand up for the top job, instead throwing her support behind Cr Barlow.
Cr McAliney said she’d like to see mayors appointed for two-year terms, to give them time to fully embrace the role. “I’d support Henry for another stint. I think he’s done a good job, and I’d like to see that continue.
“You don’t change for the sake of changing.”
Cr Maynard has confirmed that he is chasing his second mayoral term, while councillors Gilligan and Shaw said they
were still weighing their options.
Cr Shaw added: “A couple of my councillor colleagues and some people in the community have suggested I should, but I haven’t made up my mind yet”.
Councillors Tony Hooper, Walter Villagonzalo and Heather Marcus said they were still waiting to see who was putting their hand up for the mayoralty before deciding who to back.
Councillors Intaj Khan, Aaron An and John Gibbons did not respond to Star Weekly’s request for comment last week.
