Geelong council a mixture of old and new as final preferences flow

Geelong’s new council can be revealed and of the 11 successful candidates, just three will be fresh faces in the City Hall chamber, while an incumbent won by the barest of margins.

Incumbent Geelong councillor Elise Wilkinson (left) defeated her only opponent in the Connewarre ward, Angela Shearman, 7477 votes to 7472. Ms Shearman has asked for a recount.

There were some last-minute surprises as the City of Greater Geelong’s new council was revealed, with one incumbent coming from behind to snare victory by just a handful of votes.

About 50 people gathered at the Victorian Electoral Commission’s Geelong office on Saturday afternoon for the distribution of preferences after the primary vote count was completed earlier in the day.

Of the 11 successful candidates, six are incumbents, two have previous City Hall experience, and three will be new faces.

In what was a two-horse race, Elise Wilkinson staged a late rally to defeat Angela Shearman in the Connewarre ward by just five votes.

Unsurprisingly, Ms Shearman, a Liberal Party candidate at the 2022 state election, immediately requested a recount, something that will almost certainly be granted given almost 15,000 votes are involved.

Ms Wilkinson, who joined council last year following the resignation of Stephanie Asher, had trailed by almost 340 votes at one point.

The recount must be completed before the VEC’s official declaration of results on Tuesday.

The other big surprise was Emma Sinclair coming out on top in Charlemont after placing third of six following the counting of primary votes.

Aided by the preferences of Labor’s Teagan Mitchell, Ms Sinclair got over the line against Blake Hadlow, who received almost 400 more primary votes than the eventual winner.

New Charlemont councillor Emma Sinclair.

Former councillors Stretch Kontelj and Andrew Katos, both Liberal members, were elected to the Kardinia and Deakin wards respectively.

Mr Kontelj’s victory over the Greens’ Emilie Flynn means the left-wing party did not have any of its 11 candidates across the region elected.

This includes incumbents Kate Gazzard on the Surf Coast and Gavin Gamble in Golden Plains, who were both unsuccessful in their re-election bids.

Mr Kontelj, a Geelong mayor in the early 2000s, campaigned largely on rejuvenating the CBD.

“At the moment, downtown CBD looks like a third-rate country, it’s an embarrassment, really, an absolute disaster,” he said during the campaign.

Mr Kontelj’s win also meant defeat for Peter Murrihy.

It has been well over a decade since Mr Katos sat on council after he left local politics to represent South Barwon in state parliament.

Andrew Katos is set to make his return to City Hall. Picture: Alan Barber

Incumbent councillors Ron Nelson (Barrabool Hills), Melissa Cadwell (Cheetham), Anthony Aitken (Corio), Eddy Kontelj (Hamlyn Heights) and Trent Sullivan (Leopold) were all comfortably returned.

“To all my supporters, the clubs, community groups and associations, everyone who put up a sign, or letterboxed my material, or spoke to their friends or neighbours about me, I want to say thank you,” Ms Cadwell said.

In addition to Ms Sinclair, Rowan Story in Murradoc and Chris Burson in You Yangs will be the fresh faces.

Mr Story, a Liberal member, accounted for Kate Lockhart in a two-horse race by 353 votes.

Mr Burson was clearly the preferred candidate, receiving almost 48 per cent of the primary vote in a field of four.

Mr Burson was previously president and candidate of the Angry Victorians Party that was founded by military veteran Heston Russell.

The new council will have its first meeting on November 26, when a mayor and deputy mayor will be elected.

State government-appointed monitors Peter Dorling and Mark Davies will continue to keep a close eye on the happenings at City Hall until at least the end of this year.

Originally published as Geelong council a mixture of old and new as final preferences flow