Countback decides new Bellarine councillor

Updated – CLIMATE candidate Elise Wilkinson is set to be the next Bellarine Ward councillor.

The Put Climate First candidate was the winner of a countback of 2020 election results today, and subject to her written declaration to the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), will take the ward’s third seat at the council.

Ms Wilkinson leapfrogged former Coryule Ward councillor Tom O’Connor and Stephen John Simmonds to take the last spot after she was the seventh most popular candidate at the 2020 count, attracting 3.06 per cent of the first-preference vote.

Greens candidate Cory Wolverton no longer lives in the region and was not part of the countback.

Ms Wilkinson, a Barwon Heads social worker and mother-of-two, said ahead of the 2020 ballot that “population growth, development and the impacts of climate change” were her top priorities for the region.

“The council has declared a climate emergency. If elected I would say no to behaviors, projects, industries and business as usual and yes to smart urban and rural design – for buildings, businesses and communities, focused on water, energy, food, transport, waste and consumption, that creates jobs, regenerates nature and enriches lives.

“I stand for social justice, equality and accountability in government.

“Climate crisis is a health and social justice issue and I stand to give voice to those who are impacted but not old enough to vote.”

Ms Wilkinson takes the place of former mayor and federal election candidate Stephanie Asher who resigned from the council last month.

10.04am – The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) will conduct a countback today to determine who will be the City of Greater Geelong Bellarine Ward’s next representative.

The VEC will recount votes from the last general election in October 2020 to elect a new councillor, to fill an extraordinary vacancy left by the resignation of former mayor Stephanie Asher last month.

According to the 2020 council election results, Greens candidate Corey Wolverton (9.12 per cent) and former Coryule Ward councillor Tom O’Connor (8.07 per cent) had the next highest shares of first preference votes in Bellarine Ward.

The new councillor would join mayor Trent Sullivan and Jim Mason as Bellarine representatives.

The countback starts at 10am and will be streamed on the VEC’s website.