Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Bega Valley: Results roll in for local government election

Results are rolling in for wannabe councillors along the south coast, as a hard fought election comes to a close. Here are the results.

Eurobodalla's mayoral candidates (left to right) Colleen Turner, Coral Anderson (supporter, not running), Claire Mcnash, Sharon Winslade, Anthony Mayne and Mathew Hatcher. Picture: Tom McGann.

Updated:

Results are rolling in for council candidates along the south coast, from the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Shoalhaven.

After weeks of hard fought campaigning, candidates in all three local government areas are now waiting to see if they will sit on their local councils for the next four years.

Election day vote counting concluded at 10pm, with counting (including early votes) to continue on Monday, September 16.

Here are the results from election day:

Shoalhaven - 85,835 registered voters:

Sitting Shoalhaven Councillor and Shoalhaven Independents Group candidate, Patricia White, has a strong lead against her two opponents in the race for mayor at the end of vote counting on election day, with 30,931 votes counted.

Mrs White sits comfortably ahead with more than 13,700 votes, making up 44.60 percent.

Local businesswoman and former member of the Liberal Party turned independent, Jemma Tribe, follows with 36.54 percent of the vote.

Greens candidate, Kaye Gartner, sits behind the two women - with 18.86 percent.

However, Mrs Tribe said it was still too early.

“I haven’t even looked at the results yet,” she said.

Mrs Tribe spoke to this publication after speaking to her team and volunteers, thanking them for their efforts.

She said regardless of the results, she was proud of each and every one of them.

“We stayed positive, we stayed dignified and we didn’t sink to any of the negativity we were seeing,” she said.

“Now we just wait and see what happens.”

After this election, the Shoalhaven will have a new mayor, with current mayor Amanda Findley previously announcing she would not be seeking reelection.

Eurobodalla - 32,728 registered voters:

Sitting Eurobodalla mayor and ‘Advance Eurobodalla’ independent, Mathew Hatcher holds a strong lead for Eurobodalla mayor at the end of vote counting on election day, with 9843 votes counted.

Mr Hatcher - who was elected in 2021 - sits comfortably ahead in the race for mayor, with 38.01 percent of the votes.

He told this publication that while it was early days, he was feeling good.

“I’d like to say is thank you to all the people who put their hand up to stand,” he said.

“I look forward to working with everyone on council, in whatever form I’m hopefully elected.”

Former Eurobodalla Councillor, independent Rob Pollock, sits behind Mr Hatcher with 16.41 percent of the vote, while independent Phil Constable sits in third place, with 12.45 percent.

Bega Valley - 27,523 registered voters:

Bega Valley mayor, Russell Fitzpatricks’ tenure in the top job could be coming to an end, if the vote trend by the end of counting on election day continues.

Mr Fitzpatrick, who was elected mayor in 2021, currently sits in third place, with 10,291 votes counted.

The current mayor - who also ran for the seat for Bega as the Liberal candidate in 2023 - has 18.30 percent of the vote, trailing independent Mitchell Nadin at 18.57 percent and Labor’s Helen O’Neil, sitting at a comfortable 25.19 percent.

Counting resumes on Monday.

Earlier:

Eurobodalla mayoral candidates have shared their thoughts with just under an hour remaining for voters in the local government election.

Most of Eurobodalla’s mayoral candidates fought cold weather and strong winds at the Batemans Bay Community Centre voting booth on Saturday, which, according to some handing out, was the busiest in the area.

“We’ve had people waiting for 15, sometimes 20 minutes just to get in and vote,” one volunteer said.

However, the striking weather conditions didn’t stop a handful of wannabe mayors from making one last effort to win over voters.

Current Eurobodalla mayor, Mathew Hatcher, said he was “feeling good”.

“We’ve been so busy all day, lot’s of people here, but it’s been a good day,” he said.

Eurobodalla mayor running for re-election, Mathew Hatcher. Picture: Tom McGann.

Mr Hatcher said he was hoping to get a second term as mayor, but the decision was out of his hands.

“I’m feeling happy with the effort I’ve put in as mayor and I’m also happy with the effort my team and I have put in campaigning,” he said.

Signs galore at the Batemans Bay Community Centre voting booth. Picture: Tom McGann.

“Now it’s just a waiting game.”

However, Labor candidate Sharon Winslade is hoping to take the top job from Mr Hatcher.

She said she was hopeful her team’s campaigning would pay off.

“We’ve been campaigning for about 20 weeks and it’s been a huge effort,” she said.

Labor candidate, Sharon Winslade. Picture: Tom McGann.

“We need more people to come and contribute on council with a whole broad range of skills.”

Ms Winslade – who is retired – has not run for council before, but believes her background in corporate finance would help in the job as mayor.

“We need some better financial decision makers,” she said.

Meanwhile, independent Claire Mcnash said she was excited about the possibility of being mayor.

“I want to be able to contribute to sustainable development and the environment in our area,” she said.

Independent Eurobodalla mayoral candidate, Claire Mcnash. Picture: Tom McGann.

“I grew up here and this is my way of giving back to the community.”

Ms Mcnash said she was hopeful not being a member of a major party would work in her favour.

Independent mayoral candidate, Anthony Mayne. Picture: Tom McGann.

“A lot of people are against parties in local politics, so hopefully that works for us,” she said.

Current councillor Anthony Mayne – who wants to be mayor – said he was “quietly confident”.

“There’s a real sense of positive collegiality here handing out,” he said.

“So many different groups of people voting, all with different ideas, so it’s so hard to tell what’s happening, who’s going to do well or not, but I’m confident I’ll be back on council.”

By late afternoon, candidates and volunteers were packing up earlier than they wanted, after strong winds and rain hit the voting booth.

The South Coast News will have all the results along the coast.

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Originally published as Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Bega Valley: Results roll in for local government election