Poll draws record field
VOTERS TO HAVE CHOICE OF 53 CANDIDATES One-time councillor’s second try
VOTERS will have a diverse field of candidates in every ward as the biggest number of prospective councillors in 13 years contests the Geelong council election.
The ballot draw for the election was held yesterday afternoon, after 53 candidates across four wards declared their interest.
It means there are at least 11 candidates jostling for either two or three seats on the new-look council.
Five of the 13 sacked councillors — Lindsay Ellis, Bruce Harwood, Eddy Kontelj, Peter Murrihy and Ron Nelson — will be hoping voters again support them.
Some older heads with previous experience in local government are also looking to make a comeback.
Former Shire of Corio and inaugural Greater Geelong councillor Anthony Aitken heads the ballot paper in Windermere.
Michael King, who served as deputy mayor for the old City of Geelong council in the 1990s, will contest Brownbill.
He is aiming to return to City Hall after unsuccessful tilts at state and federal politics with the Liberal Party.
There are also several former candidates looking to taste electoral success for the first time. Bellarine candidate Stephanie Asher finished second in both direct mayoral polls. Green Greg Lacey (Windermere) contested the mayoral by-election and Corio in 2013.
A host of minor parties are aiming to influence City Hall and are running their biggest City of Greater Geelong campaigns on record.
Animal Justice Party is standing six endorsed candidates, with both Naomi Adams (Bellarine) and Peter Oseckas (Kardinia) drawing the favourable top spot on the voting paper. The Greens have a representative in every ward, while Socialist Alliance’s two candidates, Sue Bull and Sarah Hathway, will together take on the sizeable 18-person field in Brownbill.
Ms Bull has contested all three tiers of government for the Greens, including the first direct mayoral poll in 2012.
This year’s field is bigger than the number of ward candidates that contested Geelong’s 2012 (50) and 2008 (43) general elections.
There is a host of new faces, from people aged in their early 20s through to retirees.
The election will be held on October 28.
Eleven councillors will be elected, with the new council to then choose its mayor and deputy mayor for an expected two-year term.
Geelong’s administrators will be stood down but two municipal monitors — Jude Munro and Peter Dorling — will keep a close eye on the operations of the council. PORTARLINGTON’S Lindsay Ellis is back for another tilt at City Hall.
The former councillor, who had his first term cut short by the council’s mass sacking last year, has nominated to contest the new Bellarine ward.
A total of 53 residents will stand for election across the four wards.
Mr Ellis said he had stood down from his role with Bellarine Labor MP Lisa Neville, and will not return to work at her electoral office in Leopold if he is elected.
Mr Ellis said he was keen to move on from the controversy surrounding the last council, which saw all 13 councillors dismissed and administrators brought in to provide oversight.
“It’s a different era . . . (but) I did a lot work down there that I’m very proud of,” he said. “People know my record, I’m not one to dwell on the past, let’s get on with the future.”
The former Coryule ward councillor said the Bellarine needed strong local representation. “The people I’ve seen who have nominated, I don’t know whether they really understand (the Bellarine).”
Mr Ellis cited water issues at a new estate in Ocean Grove and concerns about the proposed Drysdale bypass as local projects that needed oversight.
He wants the region to retain its rural aspect and for development to proceed in a controlled way.
Mr Ellis joins four other sacked councillors — veteran Bruce Harwood (Kardinia), Ron Nelson (Kardinia), Peter Murrihy (Brownbill) and Eddy Kontelj (Brownbill) — in the race for 11 seats on the newlook council.
John Irvine had intended to stand for re-election but withdrew this month. Tony Ansett said in May he wanted a fourth term on council but did not lodge a nomination.