At a special council meeting on Monday night, Ballarat councillors have chosen to forge ahead with a new mayor for 2023.
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Cr Des Hudson was sworn in as the new City of Ballarat mayor for 2022/2023.
Cr Hudson beat his fellow colleagues Cr Belinda Coates and Cr Mark Harris with a five vote majority.
This is the second time Cr Hudson will hold the esteemed position, having served as mayor over the 2015-2016 period.
Cr Coates received two votes while a vote was unable to be held for Cr Harris due to Cr Hudson's overwhelming win.
Cr Hudson acknowledged it would be difficult to follow in the footsteps of the former mayor Daniel Moloney as he is a "communications expert" however, he would endeavour to serve with "honour and integrity".
"It's a very proud moment to be elected to be that civic leader of your town when you are born and bred and growing up to see yourself in that role, you think back to years as a little kid you would never have even imagined that," Cr Hudson said.
"So big thanks to my council colleagues for their vote of trust in me to be the leader of the council group for the next 12 months."
He also made mention to keep "potholes front of mind" as one of his top priorities.
"We can't lose sight of (that) we are still here for the people, we need to make sure we are continuing to do those things and one of the issues on everyone's mind with the incredible winter we've had is driving around is that issue of potholes and those basic three rs of roads, rates and rubbish," Cr Hudson said.
He said he would strive to remedy the region's dire road conditions and give it a "red hot crack".
"So if we can do that over the next little while and get some really safer roads, I think our residents will see that we've made a decent fist at what they've been talking about and that shows we're listening to what those immediate issues are."
Cr Hudson marked 20 years working with the City of Ballarat in 2022. Cr Amy Johnson was re-elected as deputy mayor 2022/2023.
Cr Johnson won with a five vote majority while Cr Coates and Cr Harris who contested these positions as well received a vote each.
She thanked her family, especially her daughters as well as the City of Ballarat for their support.
"One of the things that I've enjoyed most about the role is when my two girls come along and see me speak at an event or a meeting if they're watching online," Cr Johnson said.
"There's something really nice in that my girls grow up to take on leadership roles in the community and have the confidence as younger women in showing that females can certainly do a lot of the roles traditionally males did previously."
It has been 10 years since Cr Johnson joined the City of Ballarat and 2023 will see her third year as deputy mayor.
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Malvika Hemanth
Malvika has a strong interest in covering stories on welfare, cost of living pressures and the arts. She works on the unceded lands of the Wadawurrung people and pays her respect to elders past, present and emerging.
Malvika has a strong interest in covering stories on welfare, cost of living pressures and the arts. She works on the unceded lands of the Wadawurrung people and pays her respect to elders past, present and emerging.
