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New Civic Leaders

Mayor of The Hills Shire Dr Michelle Byrne and Deputy Mayor of The Hills Shire Frank De Masi
Hills Shire Mayor, Dr Michelle Byrne and Deputy Mayor Frank De Masi.

Hawkesbury City Council has a new Mayor, Les Sheather (Ind) after he was voted in by a majority of Hawkesbury’s councillors, including the four Liberal councillors, at a special meeting on Tuesday, 15th October 2024.

The position of Deputy Mayor went to Liberal councillor and former Mayor Sarah McMahon. They will serve in their respective roles until September 2026.

Unlike Hills Shire Council where the Mayor is elected by the electorate during the Local Government Elections, the Hawkesbury Mayor is voted on by the 12 elected Hawkesbury Councillors and it can be a long drawn out process.

Councillor Sheather re-claimed his seat on Hawkesbury City Council after the 59th count of the vote after the Local Government Elections on September 14th. He gained the seat with 2,010 votes following the distributions of preferences.

The election saw the Labor Party reduced to just one councillor (Amanda Kotlash) losing its second seat to Independent Tom Aczel (2,056 votes) after the 59th count. The last seat was picked up by Liberal’s Paul Veigel after the final distribution of preference with 1,871 votes.

In contrast, over 70,000 residents voted in Dr Michelle Byrne as Mayor of Hills Shire Council in the September 14th Local Government Elections. The Liberal Mayor’s first preference vote was 71,520 which was boosted to 75,293 votes following the distribution of preferences (71.1% of residents).

Hawkesbury City Mayor Councillor Les Sheather with Deputy Mayor Sarah McMahon

Councillor Frank De Masi was elected Deputy Mayor by councillors at the first Hills Shire Council Meeting after the election on Tuesday, October 8th.

The West Ward Councillor who has already served two terms on Council and said he was “deeply honoured” to be elected as Deputy Mayor of The Hills Shire.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside Mayor Byrne and my Councillor colleagues for the betterment of our region.

“We have a lot we would like to achieve in this term of Council, and I would like to particularly focus on how we can reduce the cost and scale of waste in The Hills Shire and how we can advocate for the NSW Government to help.”

Hills Shire Mayor Dr Michelle Byrne said: “Clr De Masi has earned the role of Deputy Mayor through his extraordinary passion and work for The Hills Shire. Frank is a proud Hills resident who has served as a Clr since 2017. His knowledge of and enthusiasm for The Hills will be an incredible asset in our advocacy efforts for our residents.”

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