BATHURST residents could be asked as early as September if they support voting for their mayor in future council elections.
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Councillor Bobby Bourke will use next month’s policy committee meeting to ask for a report to come back to Bathurst Regional Council on the question of a popularly-elected mayor.
Currently in Bathurst, residents elect the nine councillors and the councillors elect the mayor.
New mayoral elections are then held every 12 months.
But Cr Bourke says it is time the people of Bathurst were finally asked whether they would prefer the opportunity to directly elect the mayor themselves.
That will be the case in Orange during local government elections in September when, for the first time, separate councillor and mayoral elections will be run.
Orange residents voted at a referendum in 2012 for the right to choose their own mayor and Cr Bourke wants Bathurst residents to be asked the same question.
“This is not about Bobby Bourke wanting to be mayor – I don’t want to be – but I think it’s time we asked the people what they want,” he said.
“We live in a democracy – people should get the chance to have their say.”
The first hurdle for Cr Bourke will be gaining the support of a majority of councillors to hold a referendum in September.
When he last pushed for a popularly-elected mayor referendum before the 2012 elections, his campaign was killed off in the council chamber.
Only Ian North and former Councillor Tracey Carpenter backed Cr Bourke’s call for a referendum on that occasion.
Current mayor Graeme Hanger and current councillors Monica Morse, Warren Aubin and Greg Westman all opposed a referendum during the previous term of council.
“It’s a touchy subject and I would say most of the councillors we have now probably won’t support me,” he said.
“If that’s the case, though, then I’ll campaign on this issue [a referendum] going into the next elections and hopefully the new council will get on board and we can make it happen.”
General manager David Sherley said a councillor calling for a report on a popularly-elected mayor would be the first step in the process.
“If councillors wish to forward after that we would have to hold a referendum to seek feedback from the community,” he said.
Such a referendum would not have to be held in conjunction with full council elections but that would be considered the best time to keep down the costs.