DALBY farmer and local businessman Paul McVeigh is Western Downs Regional Council's new mayor after securing 45.93 per cent of the vote.
Mr McVeigh topped the polling among the five mayor candidates, with former deputy mayor George Moore coming in second with 20.78pc. Third place went to former councillor Charlene Hall on 16.97pc, Ray Jamieson, also a former councillor on 9.55pc, and Dalby resident Mandy Krause on 6.77pc.
Mr McVeigh said if elected he would pass the management of his grain and cotton farming operations over to his family, and devote his time to council.
Incumbent mayor Ray Brown did not seek re-election to the Western Downs Regional Council as mayor. Instead he is seeking a position as a councillor, making him an eligible candidate for the position of president of the Local Government Association of Queensland.
Counting is continuing for the eight councillor positions. At 4pm on Sunday the Electoral Commission Queensland had Mr Brown in the top eight of the 23 candidates on 6.84pc. Also rating well for a possible spot on council are Carolyn Tillman (9.03pc), Ian Rasmussen (7.23pc), Kaye Maguire (6.72pc), Andrew Smith (6.16pc), Donna Ashurst (6.13pc), Peter Saxelby (5.77pc), and Darren Hall (4.99pc).
