Race still clouded
FORMER Palmerston mayor Rob Macleod was last night a strong chance to take back the reins of the city.
Mr Macleod and high-profile former alderman Athina Pascoe-Bell were neck-andneck in the race for the top job on first-preference votes.
Mr Macleod’s preference swap with his mayoral successor Graeme Chin – who was sitting in third place after the primary count – could prove all important when counting continues behind closed doors tomorrow.
Fourth-placed candidate Mick Spick’s preferences are expected to flow largely to Ms Pascoe-Bell, while military historian Dr Tom Lewis – who did not list preferences – was also polling strongly.
The candidates now face a long, uncertain wait until the NT Electoral Commission counts preferential votes and declares the election outcome in more than a week’s time.
Mr Macleod, whose term as mayor ended in 2012 when he was briefly jailed for assaulting his neighbour with a golf club, had been hopeful of a strong showing.
“It was a long day, as normal,” he said just after polls closed yesterday afternoon. “Council needs to be cleaned out. Most of all it needs someone who knows how to get council back to the way it was.”
He said late last night voters had elected an “exceptional” team of aldermen, which would include Ms Pascoe-Bell if Mr Macleod won the mayoral ballot. Throughout the campaign, Mr Macleod and Ms Pascoe-Bell were considered the most likely to take over the top job.
Both portrayed themselves as antidotes to the troubleplagued former council, which was dramatically suspended, and later sacked, after an investigation found it to be riddled with infighting, sub-par governance and financial mismanagement.
Ms Pascoe-Bell last night said: “I’d like to thank my supporters and the people of Palmerston for voting for me again.”
She said she was confident the unusually large field of candidates would see Palmerston better represented than it had been under the previous council.
Former Labor member for Solomon Damian Hale was last night leading the field of 17 candidates for the council’s seven alderman seats.
Mr Hale, who stood unsuccessfully at the Territory election in the Palmerston seat of Blain, will be the most experienced political operator on the council, which will largely be made up of fresh-faced grassroots community members.
Both Mr Macleod and Ms Pascoe-Bell said Mr Hale’s political experience would serve the council well.
Candidate Lucy Buhr, who looks set to take an alderman’s seat, said: “I just put my hat in the ring and did my best. I’m pleasantly surprised.
“I think it’s good to have experience on council, but the people have been saying they want to have a fresh start.”
Sacked mayor Ian Abbott looked unlikely to take an alderman’s seat.
As the Sunday Territorian went to print, Mr Abbott’s first-preference count was behind even that of self-styled artist Trevor “Rubbish Warrior” Jenkins, who was a firm chance of taking the final alderman’s seat.