Bob Manning has claimed victory in the race to become Mayor of the Cairns Regional Council.

Manning easily fought off opponents in Val Schier, Margaret Cochrane, and Ian Thomas to snare the top job in Saturday's Local Government Election, winning more than half the public vote.

Manning, who states somewhat proudly that he is not a politician (he was the CEO of the Cairns Port Authority for 18 years), took advantage of a growing dissatisfaction for the Val Schier led Cairns Regional Council.

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Issues such as the controversial $157 million Cairns Entertainment Precinct, and perceived financial mismanagement of Council were contributing factors to Manning's victory.

At a candidate's evening in Port Douglas last week, Manning spoke of his determination to improve the economics of Council saying spending programs must see a return on investment.

On deamalgamation, Manning has said his preference is to improve the relationship between the Council and the Douglas region, while not ruling out supporting a referendum on the issue should there be sufficient public support.

RESULT
Margaret Cochrane: 10,319 (17.39%)
Bob Manning: 33,418 (56.32%)
Val Schier: 12,160 (20.49%)
Ian Thomas: 3,444 (5.80%)

More on Saturday's election on The Newsport shortly.