Kardinia ward race shaping as most competitive ahead of October Geelong council elections

Two ex-mayors, an ex-teacher, and a doctor walk into an election. We take a look at arguably the most interesting ward ahead of October’s council election.

Some of Kardinia ward’s candidates.

Market Square, the Moorabool bus exchange, free parking, the demise of countless hospitality venues.

It’s undeniable that Geelong’s CBD is on the ballot this month.

So much so, these issues are premier policy points on council candidate corflutes from Avalon to Armstrong Creek.

But only one ward actually encompasses the city centre – Kardinia.

Due to the small residential population of the CBD and the need to have a similar number of voters in each ward, suburbs such as Newtown, Geelong West, and North Geelong are also included.

A new structure will see just one candidate elected to each of the 11 wards and the battle to be top dog in Kardinia looms as the most fascinating contest.

Two former mayors – one being an incumbent councillor – a fresh faced Greens-endorsed candidate, a “fact-based,” social-media-savvy doctor, a real estate agent, a Liberal member and a mystery man.

The return of Stretch Kontelj is a distinct possibility.

A Liberal Party member of 30 years, Mr Kontelj previously spent almost two decades on Geelong council, during which he served as mayor.

He also stood, unsuccessfully, for state parliament twice.

He resigned in 2015 to head overseas for work, but made it back in time to run for council in 2020.

That campaign was unsuccessful, which Mr Kontelj puts down to a limited campaign and limitations caused by the Covid pandemic.

He’s made up for that this time around, with his posters of the first to populate central Geelong.

He is campaigning on a “back-to-basics” approach, claiming the current council – which includes his brother, Eddy – is too focused on things it has no control over.

“I’m frustrated by what I’m seeing,” he said.

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

“I’m running to really bring a focus to CBD redevelopment.”

Emilie Flynn is an endorsed Greens candidate whose campaign is based around being a “voice for community, not corporations”.

“I’m running for election to bring a fresher, smarter, more honest perspective to council,” the 30-year-old said.

“I think that we need authentic and empathetic representation.

“I don’t want to go back to basics, which essentially means cutting services, I want to look forward and build a better future.”

Ms Flynn, a former teacher who lives in Geelong West, said she wants to help steer Geelong towards a more sustainable future.

Just months ago Ms Flynn was somewhat of an unknown quantity, but her seemingly relentless campaigning has made it impossible to ignore her.

She credits the countless CBD businesses displaying her face in their windows to one of her particularly extroverted volunteers.

It isn’t lost on Ms Flynn that she has tough and experienced competition, but she believes that could be to her benefit.

“I represent a whole group of people who have been traditionally under-represented on council,” Ms Flynn said.

Independent candidate and incumbent councillor Peter Murrihy, also a former mayor, albeit only for a few months, has ramped up his campaign in the past fortnight.

You might have seen him fanging down Pakington St on his red Vespa, candidate poster in tow.

He said it’s “head down, bum up” currently, remaining confident his achievements will see him elected for a fourth consecutive stint at City Hall.

“I’ve been elected three times in a row now as an independent, so I’ve got to trust that and do the best I can,” he said.

“There’s a few projects I’m pretty chuffed about – the Landy field development, that was one of my priorities and the Chillwell library renovation which is upcoming, I’m proud of those.”

Mr Murrihy said, if he were to be re-elected, a key priority would be improvements within the CBD.

“I think every councillor is saying it’s a priority,” he said.

“We’ve got to try to get something happening there.”

Another candidate is Daniel Garcia, who’s running a tenacious online campaign.

Despite being a Labor member, Dr Garcia says he is staunchly independent.

“I am evidence based and bound,” he said.

“If a report says do X, Y, Z, I’m going to vote down that line, as long as it has good evidence and sound fundamentals.”

While Dr Garcia has some corflutes around the ward, it’s on the web that his presence has been hard to ignore.

His Twitter and Instagram pages are constantly being updated, bringing voters behind the campaign.

He even reached voters via a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session last weekend.

Most onlookers suggest those are the four candidates likely to shape the ward, but others have put their name forward.

Real estate agent Candice Costoso is one.

She believes council’s focus should be on bringing people, residents and tourists back to the CBD, rather than the outer suburbs.

Liberal member Peter Desbrowe-Annear’s key focus is to help “Geelong back on the map”

There’s also Johnny Dunstan, who is the ward’s mystery man.

So who will the Kardinia councillor be once votes are counted?

That decision is with the voters.

Originally published as Kardinia ward race shaping as most competitive ahead of October Geelong council elections