Dom Cook to fill vacant Golden Plains Shire council position

A Gheringhap lawyer will take the vacant position on Golden Plains council after an arduous process to replace a former mayor.

Golden Plains Shire councillors following their swearing in, from left to right, Brett Cunningham, Sarah Hayden, Lachlan Glen, Helena Kirby, Emma Robbins, Des Phelan and Owen Sharkey. Mr Cunningham and Mr Glen have since resigned. Picture: Supplied.

Brett Cunningham’s vacated position on Golden Plains Shire council will finally be filled, after the next man up turned the opportunity down last week.

Dom Cook, a lawyer from Gheringhap, will be sworn in as the newest Golden Plains councillor on Friday after formally accepting the position.

Mr Cook said on Tuesday he was looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s fantastic,” he said.

“When I nominated for the election it was my full intention to take up the position if it was available or if I was elected one way or another.

“Maybe it’s more challenging than other committees I’ve been on, but it would be boring if it was easy.

“I certainly look forward to it.”

Dom Cook.

The position was vacated by Mr Cunningham in early May, after the former mayor left council due to personal reasons.

Mr Cunningham was the second resignation since the local government elections in October, with councillor Lachlan Glen standing down in December, replaced shortly thereafter by Gavin Gamble.

John Crowe came out on top in a countback last Wednesday, but it was revealed on Friday he would not accept the position.

It left Mr Cook as the final candidate out of the 10 that nominated last year.

Had Mr Cook declined the position, it would have forced a rare by-election.

The bizarre situation means that, should any of the current councillors quit, a by-election could materialise.

Mr Cook will be sworn in at 9.30am on Friday at Golden Plains Civic Centre in Bannockburn.

EARLIER: John Crowe declines Golden Plains, Dom Cook to mull options

A would-be Golden Plains councillor has turned down the opportunity to join the shire, with the last remaining candidate now considering his position.

Following a countback on Wednesday to fill the hole left by former mayor Brett Cunningham, John Crowe appeared set to become the newest member of the embattled council.

However, on Friday afternoon it emerged that Mr Crowe failed to return his written declaration within the required 48 hours.

The unusual situation now sees Gheringhap resident Dom Cook as last remaining candidate among the 10 who nominated last year for the seven-member council.

His candidacy cannot be confirmed until he completes a declaration stating he remains qualified to be a councillor.

Golden Plains candidate Dominic Cook

That is, if Mr Cook decides he wants to be on council.

“Well, I’ve got to speak to my wife first,” he said.

“It’s always best to do that.”

Mr Cook has until 9am Wednesday to return the form.

If he chooses not to, it will trigger a rare council by-election.

Mr Cook wasn’t surprised when he was informed of the news Friday afternoon, claiming he was aware prior to lathe countback that Mr Crowe did not want to accept the position.

Mr Crowe attended the countback via video link, but was unable to be contacted in the days following his election.

John Crowe nominated for Golden Plains Shire at the 2024 local government elections. Picture: Supplied.

A lawyer by trade, Mr Cook didn’t put much time into his campaign last October and subsequently received just 533 first preference votes.

“I just submitted a statement to see if people were interested, obviously it didn’t really catch on,” he said.

“I’d like to see the council function in a positive manner and get on with administrating.

“It seems a little bit issues based, rather than the overall picture.”

Mayor Owen Sharkey said the entire process had frustrated him.

“I could have sorted this out with two phone calls,” Mr Sharkey said.

“I think with the numbers it was pretty evident that John Crowe was going to be the next up, it took the VEC three seconds the other day, so I don’t understand why they don’t just call Dom a couple of weeks ago and ask him if he’s still interested.

“I had a positive phone call with him a couple of days ago, he’ll hopefully accept, the last thing we want is an election process which comes at a massive cost.”

Greens councillor Gavin Gamble was elevated to council earlier this year after top vote getter Lachlan Glen resigned a month into the four-year term.

Golden Plains Shire welcomes newest councillor

The embattled Golden Plains council once again has seven members following a countback that will see John Crowe join the group.

Mr Crowe, who received just 800 first preference votes at last year’s election, was one of only two candidates in the running to replace former mayor Brett Cunningham, who resigned suddenly in May.

Mr Cunningham, elected in 2020, provided scant detail of the reasons behind his decision other that a desire to “prioritise the health and wellbeing” of himself and his family.

Mr Crowe, an Inverleigh resident who defeated Dom Cook in Wednesday morning’s countback, has a background in accounting.

To confirm his position, Mr Crowe must sign a declaration confirming he remains qualified to be a councillor within 48 hours of the countback.

His elevation means nine of the 10 candidates who stood for election will have spent time on council.

“I believe my professional skills will greatly assist me in assessing the financial viability of all policies for economic benefit of you the ratepayer,” Mr Crowe said in the lead up to the election.

“I would adopt a balanced approach on key areas of council policies, such as budget, rates, road maintenance, asset management, community groups, seniors and youth opportunities, to name a few.

“As the shire is in a rapid growth phase, there is a big responsibility that council makes the right decisions affecting the environment today, so that the Golden Plains Shire continues to be a great place to reside in.”

John Crowe is the second person to be elected to Golden Plains council via a countback this year. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Crowe joins a shire that has been plagued by problems in recent months.

Owen Sharkey replaced Sarah Hayden as mayor last month after she resigned “to provide our shire with stability and to support a return to core business”.

Mr Sharkey then slammed “faceless residents” who he claimed were undermining democracy by posting abuse and peddling falsehoods online.

He took particular aim at activity within community Facebook groups that he described as “deeply damaging”.

“Unlike some of the voices we see on social media, we do not hide behind anonymous user names, we front up, we engage and we respond,” he said.

Gavin Gamble replaced top vote getter Lachlan Glen in January following his resignation due to personal reasons just one month into the four-year term, a result that saw a left-wing candidate come in for a “back to basics” campaigner.

Chief executive Shane Walden, appointed in September, resigned abruptly earlier this year in circumstances that were never fully explained.

Phil Josipovic stepped in as acting chief who in turn has been replaced by Steven Sagona.

Originally published as Dom Cook to fill vacant Golden Plains Shire council position