The election of the City of Bayswater’s new deputy mayor came down to luck of the draw.
Councillors Elli Petersen-Pik and Josh Eveson were nominated for the role after former deputy Catherine Ehrhardt was defeated in the recent local government elections.
The deputy mayor is voted on by the council, and the count at the October 25 meeting was tied at five votes each for Cr Petersen-Pik and Cr Eveson.
This forced CEO Jeremy Edwards to put each candidate’s name on a blue ball and place them in a box before drawing one out as the winner, as per local government election regulations.
Cr Petersen-Pik’s name was drawn, and he will now be deputy mayor for two years.
It was the first council meeting chaired by Filomena Piffaretti since she became the city’s first popularly elected mayor.
“My focus will be on delivering safer suburbs, attracting investment and supporting our existing businesses, advocating for State and Federal funding, maintaining our assets and ensuring the city remains financially sustainable now and into the future,” she said.
It may be an interesting relationship between Ms Piffaretti and Cr Petersen-Pik after he questioned her decision to resign as a councillor days before the election, forcing an extraordinary election to be held in the North ward in a few months.
Clyde Bevan was elected City of Perth deputy Lord Mayor and Alex Castle the City of Vincent’s deputy mayor.