From Dysart to Clermont, Isaac’s contested divisions settled

Days after the polling booths closed, half of the Isaac region’s divisions remain without a declared councillor as newcomers hold out hope for a seat at the council table. LATEST RESULTS.

In Isaac’s four contested Divisions the votes are being counted and the leaders set to claim their seat on council.

Days after the polling booths closed, half of the Isaac region’s divisions remain without a declared councillor as newcomers hold out hope for a seat at the council table.

Running uncontested were Simon West, Alaina Earl, Rachel Anderson and Vivienne Coleman for Divisions 4, 5, 7 and 8 respectively, as well as Kelly Vea Vea who will become Isaac Regional Council’s next mayor following the retirement of her predecessor Anne Baker.

As of noon Thursday, each of the remaining councillor seats had a clear frontrunner with more than 50 per cent of ballots counted across each division.

Scroll down for the latest on each.

Terry O'Neill appears to be Division 1’s next councillor.

Division 1

In Division 1, with 62 per cent of the vote, Terrence O’Neill is on trend to defeat his electoral rival Milissa Payne.

With more than half of Division 1’s 1,376 registered voters’ ballots counted, Mr O’Neill lead with 520 votes, compared to Ms Payne’s 321.

Mr O’Neill said he will be an advocate for rural ratepayers and agricultural industries on Isaac’s council. 

“People with properties pay lots in rates, but the only service they get are roads,” he said.

Verniece Russell after 25 years of living in Dysart, is likely to unseat incumbent councillor Sandy Moffat.

Division 2

In Division 2, in a race between incumbent councillor Sandy Moffat and challenger Vern Russell, Ms Russell has a commanding lead over the incumbent with more than 64 per cent of Division 2’s ballots counted.

Ms Russell has accrued 589 votes in her favour, while Ms Moffat has fallen behind by more than 200 votes.

Potentially replacing Ms Moffat on council, Vern is looking to put some “oomph” back into Dysart.

“I think it’s a bit sad at the moment and I’d like to give something back to it,” Ms Russell said.

Business owner Melissa Westcott is leading the race for Isaac's Division 3 council seat.

Division 3

In another contest between two fresh faces, Division 3 saw a showdown between business owner Melissa Westcott and mining company community engagement officer Renee Cross.

With 63.9 per cent of the vote counted, Ms Westcott has an almost 200 vote lead over Ms Cross.

If Ms Westcott is elected, she will promote population growth and housing developments.

“We need retail workers, pub workers and restaurants to make it a beautiful community,” Ms Westcott said.

Jane Pickels, former councillor for Division 7 will likely be Division 6’s next councillor.

Division 6

Division 6’s race was an interesting competition between an incumbent and a challenger, mostly because former Division 7 councillor Jane Pickels moved to Division 6 to succeed retiring councillor Carolyn Franzmann.

Running against her was Clermont handyman Mark Hodgetts, however with 76 per cent of the vote counted and Mr Hodgetts being 300 votes behind, it’s unlikely he poses any threat to Pickels’ candidacy.

This will be Ms Pickels’ fourth term on council during which she intends to focus on financial sustainability, roads and following up with Isaac’s lawsuit against mining giant Braavus.