As counting continues in the Bega Valley Shire local election, residents can expect some new faces on council to sit alongside more experienced councillors.
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In a testament to his popularity across the northern part of the shire, Tony Allen is once again the stand-out performer with 2706 votes, almost 14 per cent of the vote, by Monday afternoon; his nearest rival was Robyn Bain with 1679 votes.
Mr Allen also topped the bill in 2012 with 2940 votes representing 16 per cent of the vote but in 2012 there were only 16 candidates rather than the 26 in this current election. The results show that the additional choice of candidates has not significantly eaten into Mr Allen’s solid support. He is well in excess of an estimated quota of around 2000 votes and has resoundingly regained his place on council.
Much of Mr Allen’s support has come from both Bega polling booths and his home booth of Cobargo where he polled very strongly with 273 votes; at the Cobargo booth the person with the next number of votes was Jo Dodds with just 77. However it was the Bega pre-poll votes that lavished the icing on the cake for Mr Allen with a massive 778 votes.
Newcomer to council, Robyn Bain, is well-placed to gain a seat on council with 1679 votes. Like Mr Allen, she has pushed for a more conservative financial approach to council’s affairs.
Interestingly, Ms Bain, whose three-word slogan was “stop buying buildings” garnered a large number (369) of votes from Eden. Ms Bain is president of the Sapphire Coast Turf Club and wants to see council lobby state and federal governments for an equestrian centre onsite.
Another newcomer to council, Jo Dodds, looks set to take a seat on council. Ms Dodds is well-known in Bega for her stand against removing trees from Littleton Gardens.
Previous councillor, Kristy McBain, newcomer, Mitchell Nadin and The Greens candidate, Cathy Griff are all in a good position to get across the line.
The fate of the remaining five previous councillors, Sharon Tapscott, Liz Seckold, Michael Britten, Russell Fitzpatrick and Bill Taylor, and also Daryl Dobson, Tas Fitzer and Fraser Buchanan, is less certain at this stage. They will be looking to pick up votes from the redistribution of votes from those who have made the quota, and also from those who have the least votes.
