Labor-aligned Joshua Black pipped incumbent Mathew Dickerson for the two-year mayoral position on the newly-elected Dubbo Regional Council.

A separate public vote saw new-boy Phillip Toynton defeat returned councillor Matt Wright for the two-year deputy mayor’s spot.

The changes followed an open vote of councillors conducted at an extraordinary council meeting held last Thursday, the first meeting of the 11 newly-elected council.

The position of mayor was between Cr Dickerson -- who has previously served two terms as mayor -- and Cr Black, through an open vote by a show of hands with Cr Black elected with a vote of six to five.

 “It is a great honour to have been elected as mayor for the next two years, to lead the newly elected body into a new term of council,” Cr Black said.

 “I look forward to leading a cohesive and united council; if we are brave and bold, we can achieve great things for the Dubbo region,” he added.

Cr Toynton also expressed his pleasure at being selected by his colleagues as council’s deputy.

“I am honoured to be elected as Deputy Mayor, and I look forward to working closely alongside my fellow councillors as we continue to see growth and development in the Dubbo Regional Council Local Government Area,” Cr Toynton said.

 “For a first-time councillor, this is incredible, and I feel like we have such a great mix of councillors who live across the LGA, and will be able to make sure everyone is represented,” he added.

Councillors for the 2024–28 local government term are Kate Richardson, Josh Black, Mathew Dickerson, Pam Wells, Jennifer Cowley, Matt Wright, Shibli Chowdhury, Phillip Toynton, Adam Ryan, Lukas Butler, and Richard Ivey.

During the extraordinary meeting, councillors also determined the representative and alternative representative on the mandated committees.

Cr Richard Ivey and Cr Shibli Chowdhury, as alternative, will represent the council on the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee. Cr Jen Cowley and Cr Philip Toynton, as alternative, will represent council on the Local Traffic Committee. Cr Matt Wright and Cr Adam Ryan, as alternative, will represent council on the Floodplain Management Committee.

The representatives will serve on the committees for the duration of the mayoral term.