Councillor Daniel Meade nominated Port Fairy's Damian Gleeson for the job while Cr Jim Doukas earmarked Cr Smith.

Councillor Smith secured the top-job with the backing of councillors Doukas, Jordan Lockett and James Purcell.

Councillor Meade and out-going mayor Karen Foster voted for Cr Gleeson.

Cr Smith said he was as surprised as anyone he had secured the role.

"It's definitely caught me by surprise," he said.

He said having served as mayor in 2022 would stand him in good stead for the next 12 months. He vowed to work hard to advocate strongly for the shire.

Cr Smith told The Standard that he looked forward to working as a team with his fellow councillors and he would represent all ratepayers - from Port Fairy to Pura Pura where his family farm is.

He said he wanted to see a lot of projects progressed, including works continuing on the Koroit streetscape.

He said the next 12 months would be financially challenging but the council had worked hard to get itself into a strong financial position.

"We always said we wanted to be prepared for any head winds," he said.

"I hope we can all work as a team to deliver projects that all the community can benefit from."

Cr Smith succeeds Cr Foster who had decided not to stand again. Cr Foster was elected deputy mayor unopposed.

During the council vote, Cr Gleeson urged his fellow councillors to elect the person they believed would best represent the shire.

He said once the decision was made he would respect the umpire's decision and do what was best for the shire.

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