COLAC Otway Shire mayor Joe McCracken has welcomed the return of Brian Crook to the council, following last week\u2019s VEC countback to fill the extraordinary vacancy left by Terry Woodcroft\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
Cr McCracken said Mr Crook had accepted the position and would join the existing six councillors once the Returning Officer and Local Government Minister had completed formalities over coming days.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian brings with him a wealth of experience and as a former councillor and mayor will be able to quickly fit back into the organisation and the many tasks we have at hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis council has a bit over two years left in our current term. It\u2019s an exciting time and on behalf of councillors and staff I\u2019d like to congratulate Brian and welcome him back to the council.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the countback, votes for Mr Woodcroft from the last election were redistributed to all unsuccessful candidates according to the voters’ preferences.<\/p>\n
Any candidate who receives more than 50 per cent of the votes is declared elected. When no candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote, the candidate with the least votes was excluded and their votes also redistributed. This process continued until Mr Crook was declared elected.<\/p>\n
This will be Mr Crook\u2019s fifth term on the council, including two terms as mayor.<\/p>\n
Cr McCracken said Mr Crook\u2019s prior experienceon a range of projects and focus on relationships would be assets to the council over the next two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian was involved with the highway duplication advocacy, the trade training centre, Bluewater redevelopment, Central Reserve resurfacing and offfield facility redevelopment, and a range of other important council projects in recent years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe places great emphasis on building relationships with local community groups as well as regional, state and federal governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look forward to working alongside Brian over the next two years. There are many challenges and opportunities for Colac Otway Shire council and it is pleasing that the extraordinary vacancy that was created by Terry\u2019s resignation has been filled quickly, we are a council of seven again and it is business as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
COLAC Otway Shire mayor Joe McCracken has welcomed the return of Brian Crook to the council, following last week\u2019s VEC countback to fill the extraordinary vacancy left by Terry Woodcroft\u2019s resignation. Cr McCracken said Mr Crook had accepted the position and would join the existing six councillors once the Returning Officer and Local Government Minister […]<\/p>\n