Robert "Bobby" Bourke stood for sentencing in Bathurst's historic court house, having once held the highest office in the council chambers next door.
"The consequences of his actions have been a fall from grace from which he is unlikely to recover," NSW District Court Judge Penny Musgrave said of the town's former mayor on Friday morning.
Bourke was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, to be served in the community, over an unsophisticated blackmail plot against a councillor in March 2020.
A jury found the 68-year-old guilty of misconduct in public office after a week-long trial in Orange in May.
The trial heard Councillor Jacqueline Rudge received an anonymous typed letter at her home, directing her to quit or her history of mental illness would be made public.
The jury accepted the crown case that Bourke and his longtime friend and campaign manager Darryl Leahey were part of a joint criminal enterprise to blackmail her.
Mrs Rudge ran on Bourke's 2017 council election ticket, but he later became enraged when she voted against him on major motions like a $2.5 million loan for a go-kart track on Mount Panorama.
Bourke maintained he was unaware of the letter's contents, as Leahey had typed it out.
But he did admit arranging for a volunteer at the community op-shop he operated to buy an envelope, then asked another worker to address it to Mrs Rudge and send it.
Judge Musgrave said though Bourke may not have known the precise terms of the letter, his actions to distance himself from its delivery proved he knew it was wrong.
Bourke "failed miserably" in maintaining the standards of honesty and integrity expected of a mayor, she said.
"Mr Bourke's role in sending this letter fell far short of these principles."
Leahey admitted to a local journalist in October 2021 he was the author of the note and he was later charged and convicted in the local court.
The judge said Bourke expressed some regret for the impact on Ms Rudge, but seemed to maintain a view it was all part of politics and she should "get over it".
"This attitude is not suggestive that the offender appreciates the gravity of his actions and the depth of his dereliction of his public duty."
Bourke was unlikely to reoffend and had good prospects of rehabilitation, she said.
He will serve his sentence as an intensive corrections order and must complete 120 hours of community service.
"It is appropriate to make such an order so the offender can further pay back to the community he failed," the judge said.
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