Golden Plains Shire Council elections 2020: Four new faces and three incumbents returned

New candidate Brett Cunningham took the most first preference votes, at 14.79 per cent.

Results were officially announced on Thursday evening.

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Golden Plains Shire has no ward structure, and councillors are selected via proportional representation.

Mr Sharkey finished second with 10.16 per cent of first preference votes.

In descending order, Ian Getsom, Helena Kirby, Gavin Gamble, Clayton Whitfield, and Les Rowe were also elected.

As well as Mr Sharkey, Ms Kirby and Mr Rowe were returned.

Each of the successful candidates has been contacted for comment.

Mr Cunningham, from Bannockburn, said there had been "a real disconnect between council and community" in the past two years.

"I'd like to begin the rebuilding of that relationship between community and council, and I think there are some issues that need to be addressed," he said.

"As a group of councillors, we need to take that on board and work together to address those concerns.

Mr Sharkey said it was a "very challenging campaign", but he is "super stoked to have been the second councillor over the line".

"I think from my perspective, it's trying to keep the operations of the organisation moving forward, and not trying to get bogged down in some of the smaller issues," he said.

"We're a fast growing shire, fast moving, and we as councillors need to put in a lot of effort to make sure the machine is moving as fast as it possibly can."

Mr Getsom said the past four years had been "wasted" by the previous council.

"I intend, with the group, to rebuild our shire to the former glory it once was," he said.

"I'll work with the ratepayers, and those who live in the shire, and see what their ideas might be to take them back to council, then we can assess the situation and see what we can improve in our wonderful shire.

"I want to get Linton, Smythesdale, and Haddon back on the map and get them moving again."

Ms Kirby, in Rokewood, was returned for her fourth term on council.

"We need council to move into the smaller areas, and me personally, I'd love to see some of the indoor staff get out to the community halls - recreation people, planning people, roads people, getting out and talking to the residents," she said.

"We need the staff talking to the residents, and the councillors explaining what the processes are."

A Greens-endorsed candidate, Mr Gamble said he intended to "do a lot of reading, researching, and talking," and wanted to "address some of the bigger issues that need addressing".

"I'm very pleased to represent a lot of voters who might not have been represented for quite some time," he said.

"I aim to be very accessible, and I also recognise the north of the shire has lost some representation this election - my inlaws live in Snake Valley and I go up around the Linton, Smythesdale area a fair bit, so I'll be out there listening to people in different parts of the shire."

A Golden Plains Shire media release states the new council will be sworn in at the Oath/Affirmation of Office ceremony on November 14 at 10.30am, and the meeting to elect the mayor and deputy mayor will be held on November 17 at 6pm.

The ceremony and the mayoral meeting will both be livestreamed, with a link available at council's website.

For more information and full results, visit the VEC website.

MORE TO COME

MORE TO COME

(* - incumbent)

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