Clay Bauman wins Whitsunday council Division 2 seat

The ECQ has officially declared the vacant Whitsunday council seat for Cannonvale’s Clay Bauman – and he already has big plans. Here’s what he said on his victory night.

Cannonvale resident and Whitsundays Division 2 candidate Clay Bauman. Picture: Contributed

Cannonvale’s Clay Bauman has won the vacant Whitsunday Division 2 seat by the skin of his teeth, beating out Andy Camm by just 20 votes.

On the December 3 election night, Mr Bauman was ahead with about 35 per cent of the first preference count, with Mr Camm in second place with 27 per cent of the vote.

After preference distribution, Mr Bauman emerged the winner with 50.48 per cent of the vote, or 1044 votes.

Mr Camm received 49.52 per cent of the vote, or 1024 votes.

Mr Bauman credits his victory to his ideas around appropriate development in Airlie Beach and his passion for the campaign trail.

Cannonvale resident and the new Whitsunday Division 2 councillor Clay Bauman. Picture: Contributed

He said he printed 2000 door hanger advertisements and distributed about 1800 through the campaign.

Celebrating the win with a bottle of champagne, Mr Bauman said he would make the council’s planning scheme a key focus in his role as councillor.

Mr Bauman opposes high rise development in Airlie Beach.

“I would like to see certainty given back to the public, developers and investors, that we have a vision to maintain the successful coastal town amenity that has served us so well,” he said.

Mr Bauman said the current scheme did not stipulate a maximum allowable height for new developments and he would seek to amend the scheme to implant a maximum height provision.

He also said the scheme had too many “undefined terms” that led to too many court cases.

During the campaign, Mr Bauman also said he wanted to elevate the power of councillors and reduce the power of council bureaucrats.

Whitsunday Mayor Julie Hall after her first council meeting on September 14, 2022. Mr Bauman said he was excited to work with the new mayor. Picture: Duncan Evans

“I have a real understanding of the limited powers of a councillor,” he said.

“I think a lot of other people and a lot of candidates do not even realise how limited a councillor’s powers are.

“A lot of those powers are limited by policies that are written by our bureaucrats, public servants and voted in by the councillors themselves.”

To return power back to councillors, Mr Bauman said he would work to roll back the responsibilities delegated to the administration

Mr Bauman said he had spoken with Whitsunday Mayor Julie Hall.

“She rang me today,” he said.

“I said to her, ‘I’m really looking forward to being a part of her team’.”

Mr Bauman takes Al Grundy’s place at the council table.

Mr Grundy resigned from the council in October to take up the CEO position at Mackay Isaac Tourism.