Two weeks after voters went to the polls on September 14, Tony Mileto has been declared the new Mayor of Orange.

Mr Mileto, a former police officer and an Orange City Councillor since 2017, was the early front-runner in the mayoral race, attracting nearly a quarter of all first-preference votes on polling day. With the count delayed until after the deadline for the return of postal votes, it wasn’t until Monday that counting resumed. Following the distribution of preferences, Mr Mileto was officially declared mayor on Tuesday, October 1, with 55.74 per cent of the vote over candidate Tammy Greenhalgh.

“To say I’m overwhelmed would be an understatement—this moment feels truly surreal,” Mr Mileto said in a statement to his supporters on social media.

“I want to thank the incredible people of Orange for putting their trust in me to lead as your new Mayor. It’s been a rollercoaster journey, but I’m beyond grateful for the faith you’ve shown, and I’m ready to get to work,” he continued.

“To those who supported me, I am eternally grateful for your trust and belief in me. And to those who voted for other candidates, I want you to know that I’m here for all of you. Together, we will continue to make Orange a better place to live, thrive, and raise our families.

“As Mayor, I’ll work hard to be a voice for everyone—always open, always listening, and always acting in the best interests of our community. Thank you, Orange. Let’s make these next four years count!”

The final results of the councillor election were made available on Tuesday afternoon, with three new faces set to join our city’s council chamber.

Marea Ruddy and Jamie Stedman, both running on Tony Mileto’s ticket, have been elected, along with Kevin Duffy group member Graeme Judge.

Of the 10 councillors seeking reelection, Glen Floyd was the only unsuccessful candidate.

The new Orange City Councillors in sequence of election are Kevin Duffy, Marea Ruddy, Tammy Greenhalgh, Jeff Whitton, Steven Peterson, Frances Kinghorne, Gerald Power, Graeme Judge, Jamie Steadman, Melanie McDonnell, and David Mallard.

Of Orange’s 30,790 enrolled voters there were 25,953 ballots counted at this local government election, a turnout of 84.29 per cent. A total of 2,000 informal votes were cast, which is 7.71 per cent of the counted votes.