Liberal candidate Paul Ell wants by-election after Mitch Pakes resigns from Shoalhaven Council

A Liberal mayoral candidate kicked off council after the party’s major state executive blunder says anything other than a by-election would be “undemocratic” after an independent councillor resigned within weeks of the the new term commencing.

Former Shoalhaven Councillor and former Liberal mayoral candidate Paul Ell has urged the coastal council to hold a by-election. Picture: Facebook

A Liberal mayoral candidate failed by his own party in the catastrophic local government registration bungle is pushing for an unlikely by-election after a shock resignation has left a seat up for grabs.

Paul Ell served on the last term of Shoalhaven Council as an independent with the intention of running for a second term as a Liberal.

However, these ambitions were quickly struck down after a major state executive blunder left hundreds of would-be Liberal candidates across the state unable to seek office.

Now, a dramatic development could give Mr Ell a path back to the coastal council with independent ward three councillor Mitch Pakes resigning just weeks after he was sworn in.

The shock and sudden resignation was put down to ill health, which was also Mr Pakes reasoning for not attending the newly-formed council’s first meeting on on Monday.

Shoalhaven Councillor Mitch Pakes has resigned.

In a bid to fill the now vacant position quickly and drama free, Shoalhaven Council voted to adopt a countback system, replacing Mr Pakes with one of the runner ups on the ward three ticket.

Mr Ell told this publication this solution was “undemocratic”.

Shoalhaven Council chambers.

“The seat would be filled by someone who the people didn’t vote for,” he argued.

The would-be Liberal candidate said it was “in the best interest of the community” to hold a by-election to fill the position.

Mr Ell noted the Mid-Western Regional Council were doing exactly that – holding a by-election on December 7 after one of their newly-elected councillors resigned.

“It’s a four-year term and someone has dropped out right as the term was getting started,” Mr Ell said.

The former councillor cited NSW Electoral Commission legislation, which states if an elected position becomes vacant after 18-months, a by-election must be held to fill the seat.

“There’s no difference between 18-months and a few days,” he said.

However, Mr Ell would not definitively confirm whether he would put his hand up to run for the vacant position and if he did, whether he would run as a Liberal or independent.

“A lot of people have contacted me and said they want me back on council,” Mr Ell said.

“I’ve done a lot for ward three throughout my term, so I think we would do quite well.”

Shoalhaven Councillor Jemma Tribe said a by-election would be a “financial burden”.

However, newly-elected independent Shoalhaven councillor Jemma Tribe said a by-election was not appropriate and would cause a “significant financial burden”.

“A countback is the sensible and most responsible course of action,” she said.

A Shoalhaven Council spokesperson said if there were no eligible candidates, a by-election would be held.

“If there is only one eligible candidate, that candidate is elected. If there are multiple eligible candidates, a countback election is conducted,” they said.

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