East Gippsland Shire history was made on Tuesday night as Cr Natalie O’Connell took up the position as mayor for the upcoming 12 months in the mayoral election lottery.

Cr O’Connell - the youngest mayor elected in East Gippsland Shire history and also the first from the Omeo region - beat Cr Dick Ellis for the position after votes were split.

With Cr Ben Buckley currently on suspension and unable to vote, bringing the number of eligible councillors to eight, both nominees received four votes – Cr O’Connell gaining support from Crs Rettino, Mark Reeves and Colin Toohey, Cr Ellis being backed by Crs John White, Jackson Roberts and Marianne Pelz.

With a voting split, Crs O’Connell and Ellis had their names folded and placed inside clear plastic balls which were then blindly drawn, Cr O’Connell having her name pulled out in a lottery-type situation.

Cr John White was elected deputy mayor unopposed. A similar situation occurred back in 2015 when Crs Pelz and Reeves were deadlocked, the former
claiming the mayoral position thanks to the ballot box.

Cr O’Connell, elected to council in 2016, becomes the fifth madam mayor of East Gippsland Shire Council since amalgamation following in the footsteps of Brenda Murray, Jane Rowe, Mendy Urie and Cr Pelz.

“I was humbled to be nominated and I look forward to continuing the great work of Cr Joe Rettino, who has served as mayor for the past two terms,” Cr O’Connell said.

“As a young mother passionate about our future, I look forward to bringing a fresh perspective drawing on the breadth of experience and views from around the council table.

“I thank my councillor colleagues for their words of support and look forward to working with deputy mayor, Cr John White, and the councillor group towards achieving our overarching vision in our strategic council plan: East Gippsland is the most liveable region in Australia. A place of natural beauty, enviable lifestyles, and opportunities.

“I’ve grown up and lived in Omeo most of my life and I’m passionate about driving change and attracting people to live in all regional areas.

“Having moved away for study and further education, I made the decision to move back to my community.

“In 2016 I joined local government to make a difference and I’ll work hard to continue the strong advocacy work of our former mayor. He has advocated strongly for East Gippsland’s fair share and thanks to his work East Gippsland is well and truly on the map.”

Cr O’Connell said she will bring a ‘different perspective’ to the role.

“I’m a young mum, I have my husband Aaron and two beautiful girls, Holly and Chloe, but I’ll have to work hard to create a resilient regional economy for the future of my family and all of the families here, attract other young families to East Gippsland as well.,” she said.

“I have the full support of my family and friends and I’ll keep working hard to carry on the work that our former mayor has started.”

The mayor, who studied and worked further afield before returning to the Omeo region to raise a family with partner, Aaron, is a recent graduate of the Gippsland Community Leadership Program, is an AFL Gippsland commissioner and a keen advocate of furthering the educational prospects of young East Gippslanders.

Cr Rettino and Cr Reeves are the outgoing mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

Outgoing mayor, Cr Rettino, congratulated Cr O’Connell on her new role and said he believed she had the tools to do a fantastic job.

“Madam mayor, congratulations,” he said.

“I know you will do a good job, you’re passionate about our region, you work hard and you’ve proven that - you’re an AFL Gippsland commissioner, you’re on the hospital board, you work tirelessly for your family.

“I know you want to create a future for young people but also for people who have gone away and created careers elsewhere. We’re going to create a region where they want to come back and live and raise their family.”

New deputy mayor, Cr White, said “I wish you all the best for the next 12 months because where you succeed, we succeed and so does the community”.

PICTURED: East Gippsland Shire’s new guard. Cr Natalie O’Connell became the youngest mayor and first from the Omeo region on Tuesday night when she beat Cr Dick Ellis in the mayoral lottery which saw votes split four apiece. Cr O’Connell, pictured with her new deputy mayor, Cr John White, said she will bring a “different perspective” to the role which she takes over from Cr Joe Retttino.