Mayor’s View – March 20th, 2008
Today is the second anniversary of Cyclone Larry and our thoughts go out to those traumatised by the event. We are especially mindful of the many still with repairs to be completed. Nature and the human spirit are resilient, but in both cases need longer than two years to recover from such devastation.
To be elected as the inaugural Mayor of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council is an honour and a privilege, and I am fully aware of the responsibility that comes with the role. I will do my best to make people proud of their new Region.
We have a very positive start given the clear mayoral mandate from both the north and the south in all six divisions. No area should feel unrepresented by the outcome and there is no regional power base.
My thanks go to the voters who have given me their trust, to the one hundred volunteers who manned my booths on Election Day; to my small and dedicated campaign team and to many others for their numerous and much appreciated contributions.
I would also like to acknowledge the other mayoral and divisional candidates. I look forward to working with the six successful candidates, some still being determined in the next few days.
My first efforts will be directed to integrating the operating systems of the two previous Councils. In this regard I recognise the significant efforts of the Local Transition Committee under Graham Webb’s chairmanship. In continuing this work I will be demanding on myself, councillors and senior staff.
I would like to mention my wife Sue, who is looking forward to her role. As some of you know she is a qualified social worker, with a strong concern for social justice and quality of life issues. She is also an artist with an Arts and a Fine Arts degree and will be active in furthering the arts and cultural development.
Bill Shannon
Mayor elect