THE newly elected Grant District Council team is now officially under way following the first meeting being held last week in the chamber.
The local government election has resulted in four new faces in the chamber from a variety of backgrounds.
New councillors Jody Elliott, Brad Mann, Kylie Boston and Megan Dukalskis have joined incumbents Bruce Bain, Barry Kuhl, Gill Clayfield, Julie Reis and Shirley Little.
Incumbent mayor Richard Sage will remain at the helm of the rural focused council after holding onto the prominent position following the tightly contested community plebiscite.
At the first official meeting of the new council, Cr Clayfield was elected as deputy mayor following a secret ballot.
Cr Clayfield is the first woman to take the position of deputy mayor with the Grant District Council, which was formed following the amalgamation shake-up in 1996.
This position was previously held by former veteran councillor Brian Collins OAM, who retired at the election from local government after a 20 year stint.
At the meeting, Cr Clayfield was declared the winner despite being challenged by councillors Barry Kuhl and Bruce Bain.
Mr Sage – who spoke with The Border Watch this week – welcomed the new look membership of the council, which he said had a high mix of expertise and diversity.
He congratulated Cr Clayfield – who was elected uncontested for the Port MacDonnell ward – on her new leadership position.
“There is a very strong mix of skills and councillors with a variety of backgrounds,” Cr Sage said.
He said these included expertise in health, the farming sector, human resources, finance and education.
Explaining there were a number of issues moving forward, Mr Sage said there was an opportunity to have “a fresh look at things”.
“I believe it will be a strong council,” Mr Sage said.
The council is predominantly rural with a number of small townships, serves a population of more than 8000 residents and covers an area of 1898 square kilometres.
The area contains some of the richest and most productive agricultural land in South Australia.
