The race to be Warrnambool's next mayor has turned bitter with councillor Sue Cassidy revealing she left a meeting on Monday believing the job would be hers only to be phoned an hour later saying it wasn't.
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Warrnambool mayor Tony Herbert looks set to be voted in for a second term next Monday after apparently back-flipping on his intention not to run.
Cr Herbert has been contacted for comment.
Cr Cassidy said it was tradition that the mayor was usually appointed at an informal meeting of councillors on the Monday before the formal vote so they could arrange for family and friends to be there.
Cr Hulin left that informal meeting early, but Cr Cassidy said she was congratulated by Crs Robert Anderson and David Owen afterwards after no one else put their hand up for the job of mayor.
She said Cr Herbert told the councillors that he had decided that day he wasn't going to stand for mayor because of the stress of the last six months.
But she said about an hour later she got a phone call from Cr Herbert to say that he had the numbers.
"As far as I was concerned when I left that room I was going in with the whole seven votes," she said.
"My biggest problem is there was a meeting after the meeting which I don't agree with and it's not good governance. It's terrible.
"I just think it's a joke and I just want people to know what goes on there."
Cr David Owen said there was "no meeting after the meeting" but they were just chatting to Cr Herbert about why he was not standing again and saying they understood.
He said while he was there none of them tried to get Cr Herbert to change his mind, and it wasn't until an hour later that he got a call from the mayor to say he would indeed run.
Cr Owen said it was unfair for Cr Cassidy that it wasn't particularly clear, but said there couldn't be a vote for who would be mayor that night because Cr Hulin wasn't present.
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