GLENELG Shire Mayor Anita Rank has been re-elected to serve a sixth straight term in the top job, but a changing of the guard was hinted at in her new deputy.

For the fourth year in a row Cr Rank was elected to the top job by defeating Casterton-based councillor Karen Stephens 4-3, in a meeting held on Wednesday evening.

Scott Martin defeated Michael Carr for the deputy position by the same 4-3 vote in a battle between two of the young councillors who polled well at last year’s council election.

Those two councillors also played the key roles in deciding the mayoralty – they both switched their vote on last year’s mayoral election which in the end ensured the same result.

Cr Rank was nominated by Chrissy Hawker and also got the votes of Jayden Smith and Cr Martin, in addition to herself.

Gilbert Wilson nominated Cr Stephens, who also got the vote of Cr Carr.

Those voting blocs remained the same for the election of the Deputy Mayor.

Cr Rank said there was “a sense of relief” about her win.

“Obviously I’m very proud but the Mayor is one person and we as a team and as a community have achieved so much.

“And it’s great that Cr Martin has put his hand up as well.

“In saying that I’d like to acknowledge the contribution and hard work of Cr Stephens as the Deputy Mayor (which she was for 2020-21).

“She’s done a lot of work in regards to the cross-border communities and as a great advocate for her community.”

Cr Rank said that the focus was now on starting the new council plan, which was adopted last month, and getting more projects across the line.

“But I think the other thing is that we should also ensure that the community is okay,” she said.

“I think that fear is everyone thinks that we’ve dealt with COVID but the outcome in regards to mental health needs to be looked at.”

Cr Martin described his election as Deputy Mayor as “fantastic”.

Prior to the vote he made no secret of the fact that he saw it as a stepping stone to the top job, and he reinforced that on Wednesday evening.

“It’s obviously a step to where I want to get to but also a step to progressing the shire as a whole,” he said.

“It’s fantastic to be in a position to be able to do that and hopefully get a taste for what it’s (mayoralty) actually like. It does require a bit of time and dedication.”

Cr Martin acknowledged he was representing a new generation – as were Crs Carr and Smith – and “hopefully I can give a voice to that generation”.

However he also acknowledged the work of the “senior” members of the council such as Crs Rank, Stephens, Wilson and Hawker for what they had achieved, particularly with the funding for several big-ticket projects in the shire in recent years.