FORGET Donald Trump! That’s old news.
There’s been a sensational outcome to the Bass Coast Shire Council elections with sitting councillors David Rooks, Leticia Laing and Les Larke all ousted by the voters.
With former mayors Michael Whelan and Clare Le Serve retiring and Geoff Ellis not re-standing, there’s an almost completely new council on the way.
Three sitting councillors have been returned with thumping majorities including Brett Tessari in Bunurong, Rochelle Halstead in Western Port and Ron Bauer in the Island ward but the other six councillors are all newbies.
Joining Cr Halstead at Western Port will be Jan Thompson, secretary of the Corinella & District Community Centre Incorporated Association (CDCC), a former chief of staff to a federal parliamentarian and Jon Temby, a former CFA Deputy Group Communications Officer with 12 years’ experience as a fire- fighter also closely associated with the Save the Western Port Woodlands group.
On Phillip Island, now all part of one ward, Cr Ron Bauer has been joined by former local business operator Tim O’Brien and mother of school-age children Tracey Bell.
In the Bunurong Ward which includes the population centres of Inverloch, Cape Paterson and Wonthaggi, Brett Tessari has been joined by former South Gippsland councillor Meg Edwards and Greens candidate Mat Morgan.
It offers Bass Coast a new beginning with many of the new councillors-elect calling for more open and transparent local government and a return to the basics.
Tracey Bell, who wasn’t at the declaration of the poll was frankly “gobsmacked” when contacted by a friend immediately afterwards.
“Amazed. I thought I’d missed out,” she said.
The three Western Port councillors-elect appear to have already found a strong bond.
Speaking all together they acknowledged the challenges ahead for a diverse ward but following a “respectful, supportive campaign” where they “looked out for each other”, Jon Temby, Rochelle Halstead and Jan Thompson said they looked forward to working together.
Brett Tessari thanked the retiring councillors for their work noting that he was excited about the new council and what they might be able to achieve as a group.
Mat Morgan was equally pleased.
“I think it’s a strong vote for progressive politics in Bass Coast,” he said.
What happened in Bunurong?
How did the count in the Bass Coast ward of Bunurong get conservative Meg Edwards (1216) elected when she trailed the top three candidates after primaries; former mayor Brett Tessari (2428), Greens’ candidate Mat Morgan (1784) and ALP member Leticia Laing (1532)?
Brett Tessari had already achieved a ‘quota’ of 2386, the number of votes needed to be declared a winner of one of the three seats, and his 42 excess votes were immediately distributed.
Thereafter Eddie Halaijian, Pru Scholtes, Les Larke and Caitlyn Robertson were excluded from the count and their votes distributed.
Meg Edwards picked up slightly more of Halaijian’s votes than Leticia Laing and 102 more votes from Pru Scholtes (148 to 46) to trail Ms Laing by 197 before Les Larke was excluded from the count. There was a reasonably even spread of his votes to Edwards and Laing from Larke but a surprising twist was coming.
Despite a letter to Bass Coast ALP members during the campaign from secretary of the local branch of the Labor Party, Tully Fletcher, that “Labor-aligned Inverloch local Caitlyn Robertson” deserved their support, voters who selected Ms Robertson first split their preferences evenly between the two left-leaning candidates, Mat Morgan and Leticia Laing on the one hand and Meg Edwards on the other.
By the time Ms Robertson’s votes had been distributed, Ms Edwards was on level terms with Ms Laing, 1919 to 1906, both within reach of the quota at 2386.
When the 726 first preference votes gathered by Brian Robinson of the Inverloch Tourism Association were distributed next, Ms Edwards received 420 preferences against the 306 divided between Ms Laing and Mr Morgan and it was enough to get her up close to the magic quota figure of 2386 with 2339.
Favoured by the further distribution of preferences from other candidates, after Mr Robinson was excluded, 272 for Edwards against the 204 preferences split between Laing and Morgan, Ms Edwards got over the line.
Crucial in the result was that Mat Morgan stayed ahead of Leticia Laing from first preferences onwards and thereafter the pair split the left vote while Meg Edwards alone collected the preferences from conservative-leaning voters.
Morgan and Laing received an even distribution of Edwards’ surplus votes but the additional 106 preferences was enough to see Mr Morgan elected next, just 167 votes ahead of Ms Laing from 9540 formal votes cast.
