Get to know Bathurst's new mayor Robert 'Stumpy' Taylor

Cr Taylor was elected to Bathurst council for the first time in December, having only appeared on the ballot paper in one prior election.

He ran on a ticket and attracted enough votes to pull his number two, Andrew 'Struthy' Smith, over the line with him.

A couple of days after the election results were declared, Cr Taylor put up his hand for mayor and managed to secure the job with seven of nine possible votes.

READ MORE: He said it took a little while for it to sink in that he was the mayor of Bathurst.

"It's very flattering. I'm very humbled to be representing this city and the community, and humbled by the confidence they have in me to do that," he said.

"... I will give it the best of my ability and just hope that I can live up to that expectation people have instilled in me."

Cr Taylor has a long history with the city.

He was born in Bathurst and older generations of his family owned businesses in the community.

He has only spent a handful of years away from Bathurst, during which time he managed hotels in Raymond Terrace and Quakers Hill.

"Then the Dudley Hotel became available, so I came back home," he said.

He went on to run that pub for 23 years before selling it in 2017.

READ ALSO: Dudley Hotel's Robert 'Stumpy' Taylor talks life beyond the bar

The sale freed up a lot of time for Cr Taylor, which is why he felt like it was the appropriate time to run for council.

He saw it as a perfect opportunity to give back and shape the future of Bathurst.

"I love this city and I want to see it prosper," he said.

As mayor, he wants to make progress on his election promises.

"I know the medical centre is on the agenda. It's got to be looked at seriously, along with a couple of those issues in my election campaign, like Hereford Street," Cr Taylor said.

"... I know there's a few DAs (development applications) that need attention when we first come back, so we'll have to look seriously at those."

He will also be tasked with uniting what was a fractured council.

Division was a common theme over the last term and, although some of those councillors weren't re-elected, there are issues that still need to be addressed.

Cr Taylor said he is up for the task and will be doing everything he can to prevent another divided council.

"You can't go backwards. Let's go forward and address these problems, put them on the table and address them before they get out of hand," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: