It’s official—following her re-election last week for her 17th year in office, Cobar’s mayor Lilliane Brady OAM is now the longest serving female mayor in New South Wales.
Cr Brady was re-elected to the top job at Cobar Shire Council’s extraordinary meeting last Thursday with Cr Peter Abbott also re-elected to the position of deputy mayor.
Cr Brady won the ballot for the mayor’s position from Cr Janine Lea-Barrett (the only other nominee for the position) nine votes to three while Cr Abbott was also elected after he defeated Cr Lea-Barrett (who was again the only other nominee for the position), with the margin eight votes to four in favour of Cr Abbott.
Cr Brady and Cr Abbott will hold their offices for a further two years.
Cr Brady’s re-election to the mayor’s position skyrocketed her into the history books with the Local Government NSW office confirming this week that “Mayor Brady OAM is indeed the longest serving female Mayor (in total)”.
Local Government NSW’s Media and Campaigns manager Toni Allan said Cr Brady now holds the longest serving female mayor’s record while Sydney City Mayor Clover Moore holds the female record for the longest continuously-serving Mayor.
Cr Brady was first elected to Cobar Shire Council as a councillor in 1976 and served on council until 1987.
Cr Brady told The Cobar Weekly she then took a break from council for eight years as she needed to concentrate on running the family property.
She returned to council in 1995 and straight away began her first term as mayor in September 1995 and served until September 1999.
During that term of office, Cr Brady also became the first woman president of the Western Division Shires Association.
Cr Brady served her next mayoral term from 2001 to 2004. She was re-elected as our mayor in 2007 and has held the office since.
In July this year, Cr Brady’s exceptional service was recognised with a Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The criterion for the award is not about longevity in the role; it’s about making an exceptional service to local government and an extraordinary contribution to the community,” Ms Allen explained.
LGNSW president Linda Scott was present for the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Cr Brady
“Cobar Mayor Lilliane Brady has an unwavering passion for and commitment to her community,” Cr Scott said at the time of the presentation.
“Since moving to Cobar Shire nearly 50 years ago, she has worked tirelessly for local people and been an outstanding champion for the local government area.”
She said Cr Brady was an asset to Cobar Shire and to the Local Government sector as a whole.
Cr Brady’s re-election for her 17th year as the Cobar mayor on Thursday also gave her a local record with Mayor Brady eclipsing the service of Cr Bill Brennan, who held the office of Shire President (equivalent of mayor) for 16 years.
