Long standing mayor falls as council elects new leader in tight vote

A longstanding Hunter mayor has failed in his bid for another term, with his deputy winning a tight vote in the council chambers.

Pat Ryan was elected the new mayor of Upper Hunter Shire Council on Monday evening, unseating incumbent Maurice Collison in a 5-4 vote of councillors.

The contest ends Cr Collison's second stint in the top job, having been re-elected unopposed in October 2024 for a term due to run until September 2026, when a mid-term mayoral election was required under the council's rotating arrangement.

Neither Cr Ryan nor Cr Collison addressed the chamber before the vote was called.

Councillors opted for a show-of-hands ballot, with Cr Collison backed by Crs Tayah Clout, Earle Shields and Adam Williamson alongside his own vote, while Cr Ryan was supported by Crs George Fraser, Peter McGill, Allison McPhee and Troy Stolz, along with his own vote, to take the mayoralty 5-4.

In the deputy mayoral race that followed, Cr McGill defeated Cr Williamson by the same 5-4 margin, drawing support from the same bloc of councillors that had backed Cr Ryan.

Cr Williamson used part of his allotted time to briefly outline his priorities, telling the chamber he held a consistent, finance-focused position but wanted the shire to pursue development opportunities, arguing the council's past fiscal restraint now put it in a position to back local business and industry.

Cr Ryan and Cr McGill will serve in their respective roles for the next two years.

Cr Collison first became mayor in mid-2020, following the sudden resignation of Wayne Bedggood, and was subsequently re-elected unopposed at successive mid-term mayoral elections in 2021 and 2024.

His tenure spanned the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of extreme weather events, and more recently included lobbying state and federal governments over funding for regional roads, water and sewerage infrastructure, and aged care services, including the future of the Gummun Place facility in Merriwa.

Accepting the role, Cr Ryan first paid tribute to his predecessor, congratulating Cr Collison on "some 16 years" on council, including roughly eight as mayor and two as deputy mayor, calling it "by any measure, an outstanding achievement".

He said he was "deeply honoured and humbled to accept the responsibility of serving as your mayor" and wanted to work with councillors and the senior leadership team "to make the Upper Hunter Shire an even better place to live, work, and invest."

Cr Ryan pointed to the shire's position "at the centre of three state renewable energy zones" as a major focus, alongside agriculture, road maintenance and upgrades, and renewal of ageing water and sewerage infrastructure.

He also flagged proposed changes to financial assistance grants as "encouraging," and said the council would keep pushing for "a fair and sustainable funding model" for regional councils.

Cr Ryan invited Cr McGill to address the chamber, but the new deputy mayor declined, saying he'd "have heaps of opportunity later on."