New England Online > Geography > Administrative Divisions > Counties > Aldermen
Aldermen of the Counties
An Alderman is an elected member of a county councils of New England. There are two types of aldermen, all elected by popular vote using the Single Transferable Vote, or STV system. Each county returns a single Earl (who is the equivalent of a mayor in other countries) and either twelve or eighteen Thegns (who would be the equivalent of regular councillors).
The title is Anglo-Saxon in origin, literally meaning elderman, and was used by the chief nobles presiding over shires. In New England, all titles are non-gender specific, and so a woman is also known as an Earl, as opposed to a countess.
Earls
Earls are the senior elected officer to the counties of New England. They serve as the chief executive of the county and govern with the assistance of the elected Thegns and an appointed County Clerk who manages the day to day operations of the county government. As a courtesy, all Earls are known as Honourable, and are often address in the following example: The Honourable John Smith, Sixth Earl of Armidale. This a title and honour that the bearer may carry for the rest of their lives.
The word earl derives from Middle English erl meaning warrior, nobleman, equivalent to the jarl in Old Norse.
| Earls of the Counties | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | County | Name | Party | Took Office | ||
| 1 | Apsleyshire | Helen Moss | Social Democratic Labour Party | 2048 | ||
| 2 | Clarence | Liz Gill | New England National Party | 2048 | ||
| 3 | Fitzroyshire | Ed Jackson | New England National Party | 2048 | ||
| 4 | Greater Armidale |  |
Gabby Harrison | New England Alliance | 2048 | |
| 5 | Guyra | Gemma O'Dea | New England National Party | 2048 | ||
| 6 | Gwydir | Jack Francis | New England National Party | 2040 | ||
| 7 | Macintyre | Daniel Macmillan | New England National Party | 2048 | ||
| 8 | Macleay | Geoff Jamison | New England National Party | 2051 | ||
| 9 | Macquarie | David Johansson | New England Alliance | 2044 | ||
| 10 | Parkes | Allan Newholme | New England National Party | 2044 | ||
| 11 | Raleigh |  |
Simon Ascot | Rally for Raleighshire | 2044 | |
| 12 | Severnshire | Edgar Yelland | New England National Party | 2048 | ||
| 13 | Uralla | Olivia Turner | Social Democratic Labour Party | 2049 | ||
Thegns
Along with the Earl, there are twelve or eighteen elected councilors who serve as Thegns of the county. They act together as a legislative body that approves county by-laws, approves development applications and handles complaints against developments and breaches of by-laws. As councilors, Thegns are typically elected as members of political parties. However, once elected they to represent all their constituents and not just those who voted for them.
Thegn is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning an attendant, servant, retainer or official.
| Representation by Party | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | County | Majority Party | No. | Minority Party | No. | Third Party | No. | |||
| 1 | Apsleyshire | Social Democratic Labour | 8 | Progressive | 3 | National | 1 | |||
| 2 | Clarence | National | 9 | Social Democratic Labour | 3 | None | ||||
| 3 | Fitzroyshire | National | 7 | Democratic Conservatives | 4 | Social Democratic Labour | 1 | |||
| 4 | Greater Armidale | Social Democratic Labour | 8 | Alliance | 7 | National | 3 | |||
| 5 | Guyrashire | National | 8 | Social Democratic Labour | 4 | None | ||||
| 6 | Gwydirshire | National | 10 | Social Democratic Labour | 2 | None | ||||
| 7 | Macintyre | National | 6 | Social Democratic Labour | 3 | Alliance | 3 | |||
| 8 | Macleay | National | 7 | Social Democratic Labour | 5 | None | ||||
| 9 | Macquarie | Alliance | 9 | Social Democratic Labour | 2 | National | 1 | |||
| 10 | Parkes | National | 10 | Social Democratic Labour | 2 | None | ||||
| 11 | Raleighshire | Rally for Raleighshire | 7 | Social Democratic Labour | 4 | National | 1 | |||
| 12 | Severnshire | National | 7 | Social Democratic Labour | 3 | Alliance | 2 | |||
| 13 | Urallashire | Social Democratic Labour | 8 | National | 3 | Alliance | 1 | |||
