THE Mail’s rolling coverage of the 2016 Yarra Ranges Council election results.
Stay in touch by bookmarking the page and checking in regularly, and follow along on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mailnewsgroup.
UPDATE 7.30pm, 30 October
SIX of the last term’s Yarra Ranges councillors have been re-elected to their posts and three new faces will join the council, with the Victorian Electoral Commission officially calling the race.
Former-councillor and mayor Tim Heenan has been elected to Billanook Ward, unseating incumbent Maria McCarthy by 742 votes, after preferences.
Richard Higgins will be the new councillor for Chirnside Ward, after beating incumbent Andrew Witlox by 1002 votes, while Tony Stevenson has been declared the winner of Chandler Ward with a lead of more than 3500 votes over the next candidate.
Streeton Ward councillor Noel Cliff, Walling Ward councillor Len Cox, O’Shannassy Ward councillor Jim Child, Ryrie Ward councillor Fiona McAllister, Lyster Ward councillor Mike Clarke and Melba Ward’s Terry Avery, meanwhile, have all been re-elected.
The VEC will officially announce the winners in a ceremony at the Yarra Ranges Council chambers at 15 Anderson Street at 10am on Monday, 31 October.
For more details, visit the VEC’s results page.
Results as at 7pm on Sunday, 30 October – Updated
BILLANOOK
Result: Tim Heenan elected
First preference votes
Tim Heenan – 4267
Maria McCarthy – 3469
Don Di Battista – 2212
Andrew Henley – 814
Informal votes – 219
Results after distribution of preferences
Tim Heenan – 5752
Maria McCarthy – 5010
CHANDLER
Result: Tony Stevenson elected
First preference votes
Tony Stevenson – 5465
Sue McMurdie – 1919
Geoff Pain – 1755
Informal votes – 322
CHIRNSIDE
Result: Richard Higgins elected
First preference votes
Richard Higgins – 4400
Andrew Witlox – 3657
Sami Hisheh – 1284
Darren Magee – 837
Informal votes – 252
Results after distribution of preferences
Richard Higgins – 5590
Andrew Witlox – 4588
LYSTER
Result: Mike Clarke elected
First preference votes
Mike Clarke – 6532
Catherine Keil – 2248
Kris Recke – 1061
Informal votes – 299
MELBA
Result: Terry Avery elected unopposed
O’SHANNASSY
Result: Jim Child elected
Jim Child – 6054
Chelsea McNab – 2697
Informal votes – 461
RYRIE
Result: Fiona McAllister elected
Fiona McAllister – 7745
Dave Hill – 1536
Informal votes – 491
STREETON
Result: Noel Cliff elected
First preference votes
Noel Cliff – 4499
Bill Brindle – 2341
David John Francis –2006
Informal votes –264
WALLING
Result: Len Cox elected
First preference votes
Len Cox – 5360
Lisa Di Battista – 2322
Jaclyn Strutton – 1108
Informal votes – 220
UPDATE 4.30pm, 28 October
LYSTER Ward councillor Mike Clarke has received an absolute majority of votes in the Yarra Ranges Council elections, and will return to the council table for another four years.
As of 3pm on Friday 28 October, Cr Clarke had received 6479 votes – more than half of the enrolled 12,942 votes for the ward, delivering him victory for the ward.
He joins Ryrie Ward’s Fiona McAllister and Melba Ward’s Terry Avery as the third sitting Yarra Ranges councillor to be re-elected, with the other six wards too close to call.
Speaking to the Mail on Friday afternoon, Cr Clarke said he thought the results were a “strong endorsement” of his work with the council since winning a by-election in 2015.
“It’s really good confirmation of a lot of support from the community and I sense that they’re happy with what I’m doing, and happy with what I’m proposing we need to do,” he said.
“A big thank you to all of the people that helped me, and for the confidence from all the voters.”
He said the major issues for his next term in council included road maintenance and sealing, customer service and improving public transport.
Cr Clarke said he was working with Melbourne University and Swinburne University to analyse public transport demand, and on research for electric buses, an issue he has raised in the past as a solution to sporadic public transport in the hills.
Vote counting is expected to finish this afternoon with preferences to be allocated over the weekend ahead of the announcement of winners on Monday 31 October.
UPDATE: 2.10pm, 27 October
RYRIE Ward councillor Fiona McAllister said she is “humbled” by her overwhelming majority vote in the Yarra Ranges Council election, which will see her returned to council until 2020.
Election returns on Wednesday 26 October showed that Cr McAllister commanded an unbeatable 5229 vote lead over her opponent, Dave Hill, with too few votes left in the count for Mr Hill to overtake her.
As of Thursday 27 October, Cr McAllister had received 6490 votes to Mr Hill’s 1261, with 366 informal votes.
With an enrolment of 13,221 for the ward and 8117 votes counted, only 5104 votes remained meaning Cr McAllister had a clear overwhelming majority of the vote.
“I feel very humbled by it,” Cr McAllister said on Thursday.
“I suppose, for me, it’s a confirmation that the things that we’ve been working, or I’ve been working on, at council are the right things, and certainly we’ll keep checking in with the community and making sure that I’m taking the right stand on the right issues.”
Cr McAllister said this year’s election was “very different” to the 2012 elections, where she was one of 12 candidates for the ward – this year, it was a two candidate race.
“When you’re one of two, versus one of 12, it’s a very different thing,” she said.
“When you’re the standing councillor running again, you have a profile in the community and people know what you will and won’t do – it’s an easier thing for the community to know whether to vote for you or against you.”
She said planning reform, the formation of the Yarra Valley Trail and the Yarra Ranges Council’s Lilydale office redevelopment would be major issues for council in the coming four years, and that the dynamic of the council would shift with at least one new councillor coming on board.
Former-Chandler Ward councillor and Mayor Jason Callanan was expected to run for re-election, but did not register for the election after experiencing health issues.
“The moment you change a group of people that work together, with one change, that already changes the dynamic,” Cr McAllister said.
“We’ll wait to see what happens in the next few days, in terms of the other roles.”
Returning Officer Peter Williams said on Wednesday that the count for all nine wards was expected to be finished by Friday night, with preferences being distributed on Saturday morning.
He said he would not comment on whether a ward was decisively won by a candidate until Monday’s announcement.
In O’Shannassy Ward, incumbent Jim Child is in the lead against Chelsea McNab, with 5135 votes to Ms McNab’s 2227.
Tim Heenan is currently the frontrunner in Billanook Ward with 3658 votes to Maria McCarthy’s 2913; Don Di Battista currently has 1900 votes, while Andrew Henley has 675.
Tony Stevenson leads in Chandler Ward, with 4469 votes, while Sue McMurdie and Geoff Pain trail with 1476 and 1443 votes respectively.
In Chirnside Ward, Richard Higgins leads with 3820 votes, compared to Andrew Witlox’s 3178, Sami Hisheh’s 1124 and Darren Magee’s 716.
In other wards, Yarra Ranges’ sitting councillors currently hold the lead, with Mike Clarke almost 4000 votes ahead of the next candidate in Lyster – Mr Clarke has received 5502 votes so far, compared to Catherine Keil’s 1662 and Kris Recke’s 882.
Noel Cliff is currently leading in Streeton Ward with 3754 votes, with Bill Brindle and David John Francis receiving 1943 and 1562 votes respectively.
Len Cox leads in Walling Ward with 4915 votes to Lisa Di Battista’s 1960 and Jaclyn Strutton’s 914, while Melba Ward councillor Terry Avery has been re-elected unopposed.
The count continues for each ward, and Mr Williams said Billanook, Chirnside and Streeton wards would be close until preferences were distributed over the weekend.
“It really depends on the flow of the last few votes,” he said.
UPDATE: 5pm, 26 October
RYRIE Ward councillor Fiona McAllister looks as if she will keep her role as councillor until 2020, commanding an unbeatable 5229 vote lead.
The Victorian Electoral Commission’s scrutineers are currently tallying up the votes from the Yarra Ranges Council election, following Friday 21 October’s closing date.
Returning Officer Peter Williams said the count for all nine wards was expected to be finished by Friday night, with preferences being distributed on Saturday morning.
At 10am on Monday, 31 October, the winners will be announced in a ceremony at Lilydale’s council chambers on Anderson Street.
As of 3pm on Wednesday, 26 October, Fiona McAllister commands a significant lead against opponent Dave Hill in Ryrie Ward, with 6490 votes to Mr Hill’s 1261.
Mr Williams said that 366 informal votes had been received for the ward, with a total of 8117 counted.
With an enrolment of 13,221 for the ward, 5104 votes remain left to be counted for Ryrie, meaning a win for Mr Hill is all but impossible.
Mr Williams said he would not comment on whether a ward was decisively won by a candidate until Monday’s announcement.
In O’Shannassy Ward, incumbent Jim Child is in the lead against Chelsea McNab, with 5135 votes to Ms McNab’s 2227.
Tim Heenan is currently the frontrunner in Billanook Ward with 3658 votes to Maria McCarthy’s 2913; Don Di Battista currently has 1900 votes, while Andrew Henley has 675.
Tony Stevenson leads in Chandler ward, with 4469 votes, while Sue McMurdie and Geoff Pain trail with 1476 and 1443 votes respectively.
In Chirnside Ward, Richard Higgins leads with 3820 votes, compared to Andrew Witlox’s 3178, Sami Hisheh’s 1124 and Darren Magee’s 716.
In other wards, Yarra Ranges’ sitting councillors currently hold the lead, with Mike Clarke almost 4000 votes ahead of the next candidate in Lyster – Mr Clarke has received 5502 votes so far, compared to Catherine Keil’s 1662 and Kris Recke’s 882.
Noel Cliff is currently leading in Streeton Ward with 3754 votes, with Bill Brindle and David John Francis receiving 1943 and 1562 votes respectively.
Len Cox leads in Walling Ward with 4915 votes to Lisa Di Battista’s 1960 and Jaclyn Strutton’s 914, while Melba Ward councillor Terry Avery has been re-elected unopposed.
The count continues for each ward, and Mr Williams said Billanook, Chirnside and Streeton Wards would be close until preferences were distributed over the weekend.
“It really depends on the flow of the last few votes,” he said.
