Wild dog management and another industry for Charleville are Annie Liston’s priorities for a new Murweh Shire Council.
While not yet formally elected, she is leading incumbent mayor Denis Cook with 41 per cent of the vote to his 34 per cent, with John Jones trailing on 24 per cent.
She was elected to council in 2010 at a by-election and became deputy mayor in 2012.
There’s barely an organisation in Charleville she doesn’t belong to – the Rural Fire Brigade, the hospital auxiliary, the retirement complex, the local Cancer Council branch and the WORK committee are just some of them – but she says she will be able to juggle all of them and her job as mayor.
“I had to step in as acting mayor last year on a couple of occasions last year, and I’ll be declaring my interests when they arise,” she said.
She believes communications needs to be improved and is planning to have frequent gatherings in the smaller towns in the shire.
Her team looks like a mix of old and new – current councillors Robert Eckel and Peter “Red” Alexander have each captured 12 per cent of the vote, while new candidates Shaun “Zoro” Radnedge and Lyn Capewell have 11 and 10 per cent respectively.
Sitting councillor Cec Russell is likely to miss out, with 5 per cent of the vote.
