URALLA will for the first time, popularly elect their mayor next month with five candidates registered for the seat.
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Retired police officer and Uralla Shire Council mayor Michael Pearce will re-contest the position after one term as mayor and two as a councillor.
Deputy mayor Bob Crouch is also running, having served four years as a councillor and says roads and promoting the development of towns and villages are his priorities.
Councillor Isabel Strutt is a former mayor and deputy mayor of Uralla and will contest the position of mayor again this year.
Former Uralla Shire general manager Tom O’Connor and Invergowrie resident Natasha Ledger are also in the running.
Mr O’Connor has 35 years experience in local government serving in three states throughout his career and Ms Ledger is an advocate for a stand-alone council and comes from a business background.
None of the candidates has any formal affiliation with a registered political party.
The decision for the people to elect their mayor came in 2012, when Council held a referendum on the issue.
It means that rather than councillors voting for a mayor each year, the mayor will now be elected by popular vote and serve four years in the position.
The change has also meant Uralla has moved from three, to two wards.
Eight candidates are standing for Ward A and seven will contest the four positions available in Ward B.
Councillors Leanne Cooper and Kevin Ward will re-contest their seats, now in Ward A and councillor Mark Dusting will also run again, this time in Ward B. Other candidates are a mix of former councillors and newcomers and include Richard Croft of Salisbury Plains and Robert Bell, Bill Andrews, Michael Welbourne, and Tara Toomey of Uralla, in Ward A. And Deb Pulkkinen of Arding, Sandra Bamberry of Bundarra, and Levi Sampson of Saumarez Ponds in Ward B.
The all-important ballot paper draw was finalised in Tamworth, on Wednesday night.
Tom O’Connor took out the number one spot in the mayoral paper, followed by: Bob Crouch, Natasha Ledger, incumbent Michael Pearce and Isabel Strutt.
The ward A paper order will read: Richard Croft, Isabel Strutt, Robert Bell, Kevin Ward, Bill Andrews, Leanne Cooper, Michael Welbourn, Tara Toomey.
Bob Crouch topped the ward B paper followed by: Natasha Ledger, Deb Pulkkinen, Michael Pearce, Sandra Bamberry, Levi Sampson, Mark Dusting.
Local Government elections will be held on September 10.