Judy Coates becomes Tamworth council's second female deputy mayor

Tuesday was a busy night for Tamworth Regional Council, with a push from the mayor to get more money out of renewable energy developers, a decision on a controversial childcare centre, and a resolution to ask residents whether they'd like their rates put up by 36.3 per cent.

But the most dramatic item on the agenda was the appointment of Tamworth's mayor and deputy mayor for the next twelve months.

The mayoral position was left vacant for only a few moments as Cr Russell Webb was returned to his role unopposed.

But it was the deputy mayor position that had those in the council chambers on the edge of their seats.

After a tense series of votes, ties, and hushed murmurs, Councillor Judy Coates emerged as council's new deputy mayor, joining a small cohort of female leaders in Tamworth's history.

Cr Coates told the Leader she's "excited" to step in to her new role, but also takes her appointment as a sign to keep to her straightforward style of governance that has gotten her this far.

"How I go about things probably won't change. I like being out in the community, going and speaking to various groups and I'm happy to step up into the mayoral position as needed," she said.

Former deputy mayor Cr Mark Rodda decided not to contest for deputy mayor a second time, saying the role prevented him from voicing his concerns about some of council's decisions.

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Cr Coates has become the second female deputy mayor in Tamworth's history since amalgamation, and the city's fourth overall.

She said she's well-suited to fill the obligations of the role, as being retired means she can step into the mayor's position whenever needed, even on short notice.

"I have plenty of commitments, but I don't actually have that nine to five that does tie a lot of the councillors up," Cr Coates said.

There were three nominations for the deputy mayor position: Marc Sutherland was nominated by Cr Webb, former deputy mayor Phil Betts was nominated by Brooke Southwell, and Cr Coates was nominated by Bede Burke.

Councillors decided to vote on the position through secret ballot, and after the first round of voting, the candidates were tied at three votes each.

To resolve the tie, one name was drawn randomly to be excluded from the second round of voting. Cr Betts drew the short straw, leaving Crs Coates and Sutherland in the running for the second round.

After a tense few moments, the general manager read out the final tally: Cr Coates at five votes and Cr Sutherland at four.

The moment was met with a round of applause as the newly-elected deputy mayor shook hands with her fellow councillors.

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