LAKE Macquarie has a new deputy mayor, and the Central Coast has a new mayor.
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On Monday night, Lake Macquarie councillors elected east ward councillor Nick Jones (Liberal) to become mayor Kay Fraser's deputy for the next 12 months.
Cr Jones was elected to council in 2016.
His profile on the council website says Cr Jones had "a background in small business and extensive experience across government, corporate governance and finance".
Prior to becoming a councillor, he was involved in a number of community campaigns and consultations, including representations on council's policies on sea level rise, the profile said.
Cr Fraser (Labor) welcomed Cr Jones to his new role.
"I'm looking forward to working a bit more closely with Cr Nick Jones," Cr Fraser said.
"We have a good relationship and similar interests, so I'm sure we will share in some really positive decisions and outcomes for our community over the next 12 months."
Cr Jones replaces west ward councillor David Belcher (Labor) as deputy.
There were four nominations for the position: west ward councillor David Belcher (Labor), north ward councillor Kevin Baker (Liberal), east ward councillor Nick Jones (Liberal) and north ward councillor Colin Grigg (Independent).
At Wyong, Central Coast councillors elected Cr Lisa Matthews (Labor) from The Entrance ward, as the district's new mayor.
Cr Matthews acknowledged the work council had done since amalgamation to move forward as "one Central Coast".
"We have a robust Operational Plan in place for the next 12 months and my goal is to keep working towards delivering that," Cr Matthews said.
"Priority areas residents have told us should be our focus include improving our water and sewer networks, roads, the environment, community facilities and open space and recreation, and these areas will feature heavily in our plans as we strive to create a sustainable and connected Central Coast community that we can all be proud of."
Cr Matthews replaces the Central Coast's first mayor, Cr Jane Smith (Independent) from the Gosford East ward, in the top job. Cr Smith was elected deputy mayor on Monday, replacing Gosford West's Cr Chris Holstein.
