COUNCIL POLL DIVISION WARFARE AS RIVAL CLAIMS WIN

BROOKE Patterson say she is the new Dawn in Southport, but will face a challenge from rivals after claiming the seat.

“We’ve won this thing. Thank you everyone,” Ms Patterson posted online yesterday after her victory in the division vacated by retiring councillor Dawn Crichlow was announced on radio news.

But rival Division 6 candidates Shaelee Welchman and Susie Gallagher said they would appeal against the result after estimating 3000 residents of nursing and aged care homes were denied a vote when mobile voting was shut down due to the pandemic.

Ms Welchman said the extraordinary polling conditions “place an asterisk” beside the result.

She believes she has lost an army of supporters after visiting aged care homes with Cr Crichlow as the retiring councillor’s preferred candidate.

“Dawn and I worked tirelessly in nursing and aged care homes to win support, but unfortunately it appears they haven’t been provided a vote,” Ms Welchman said. “Win, lose or draw, it’s wrong to deny our seniors a voice. We will appeal the results if it makes a profound difference.”

Ms Patterson told the Bulletin: “I do appreciate that there were 487 votes in declared institutions

last Division 6 election and not all of those voters would have got their right to exercise their civic duty this time around.

“Postal votes really should have been extended so they could. Given the landside margin I received, this would not have made any difference to the overall result but people should be able to vote. It is their right.”

Ms Patterson said she had been scoring good wins at the Benowa and Keebra Park booths as counting progressed after Saturday’s poll.

She estimated that she had secured almost 46 per cent of the vote at Benowa with Ms Welchman second on 25.4 per cent. At Keebra, her vote was 66 per cent, she said.

Ms Welchman’s supporters argue their candidate has strong polling in some Southport booths and with Ms Gallagher’s preferences could make up ground.

In Division 10, which includes Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, Darren Taylor and Eddy Sarroff were separated by only 12 votes with just more than 18 per cent of the vote counted, according to the Electoral Commission of Queensland site.

Mr Taylor late yesterday told his supporters: “I am currently in front but only by a small margin. With a record number of pre-poll and postal votes, I do not believe we will have an answer for a little while yet.”

The make-up of the next Gold Coast City Council should become clearer by tomorrow but not set in stone until at least another week.

Councillor William OwenJones said postal votes would continue to be received by the Electoral Commission of Queensland until 5pm on April 7.