There’s a funny quirk in Australian politics where many voters believe they get to elect the prime minister.
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Some will even vote for a local member they do not particularly like, just so their ‘choice’ of PM has a chance.
Of course, the PM’s selection is not a matter of direct election, but an internal party room decision.
So too in local government is the mayor not popularly elected, but chosen by their peers in the council chamber.
The chamber leader, like the PM, is primus inter pares: Latin for "first among equals".
Among their privileges is a deciding vote when the chamber is deadlocked on an issue.
It’s also their prerogative, as its bulwark, to help it sail the ever-changing tides of public opinion.
So it makes sense the councillors should have a say, as they need a leader they can work with while they work for us.
Having said that, it also makes sense that they choose a leader who’s considered as such in the community.
And for an easy metric on who has the city’s highest regard, there’s no need to go past the electoral poll.
First preference votes tell us a lot about a candidate’s standing in the electorate.
Of course, polls favour the known quantity; the people who have done this job before.
It’s much harder, as a first-timer, to get the same run-up as a returning or veteran candidate.
But then, those candidates have returned because enough voters rate their job performance.
Bob Kirk has done two tours of duty for Goulburn Mulwaree Council, and is back for a third.
From a career of banking and management, he was elected for the first time in September 2008, and has been Deputy Mayor ever since.
This will give him a strong position of authority when he returns to the chamber in October.
Whether his peers formalise that authority with the title of mayor is yet to be seen, but likely.
Cr Kirk has already spoken of his intentions for the role, the obvious next step for a deputy.
And his first preference polling has put him 500-plus votes clear of the other candidates, so he could be a popularly elected mayor, after all, inside the chamber and out; and among equals, all.
