Clarence Valley Council Local Government Election 2021 Ballot Count as of 7 December - highest ranking 10 candidates contesting for 9 seats in the Chamber

 

Total Number of Electors: 38,544 residential and non-residential electors were enrolled in this area on 25 October 2021.

Clarence Valley Local Government Election 2021 - First Preference Vote Count as at 7 December 2021 for 10 Highest Ranking Candidates in a Field of 16 Contenders:

Jeff Smith – 4,840 votes 19.43% of votes

Debrah Novak – 2,820 votes 11.32% of votes

Ian Tiley – 2,202 votes 8.84% of votes

Greg Clancy – 2,117 votes 8.50% of votes

Peter Johnstone - 1,978 votes 7.94% of votes

Allison Waites - 1,848 votes 7.42% of votes

Bill Day - 1,804 votes 7.24% of votes

Karen Toms – 1,389 votes 5.58% of votes

Steve Pickering – 1,260 votes 5.06% of votes

Peter Ellem – 1,249 votes 5.01% of votes

Total Formal Votes Counted 24,911

Total Informal/Other Votes 1,924

Progressive Total Votes 26,835

Last Updated: 07/12/2021 14:12

NSW Local Government Elections December 2021 - and the ballot count continues

 

The Daily Telegraph, 5 December 2021, p.26:

Voters could be waiting until two days before Christmas to find out who their new councillors will be after the state endured one of its more bizarre local government election days.

A record number of postal votes fuelled by Covid-19 concerns will likely delay final results for many of the 124 councils that went to the polls yesterday.

The day saw manure attacks on posters, a car crashing through a polling booth, Covid rule breaches and an independent candidate almost run over…..

Meanwhile in the NSW Northern Rivers region polling places were a bit more laidback. 

This was one Ballina polling place......

Pics by Greens support worker Jacqui
Tweeted by @talking koala

And vote counting although always a slow process doesn't involve the huge numbers of large metropolitan electorates.

Total Number of Electors in Clarence Valley Local Government Electorate: 38,544 residential and non-residential electors enrolled in the area on 25 October 2021. 

Clarence Valley Council First Preference Vote Count, 4 December 2021, 11:02pm

Top 10 candidates in a field of 16 candidates vying for 9 councillor positions:

Jeff Smith - 3,092 votes 19.29% of votes

Debrah Novak - 1,892 votes 11.80% of votes

Greg Clancy - 1,451 votes  9.05% of votes

Allison Waites - 1,332 votes  8.32% of votes

Ian Tiley - 1,214 votes  7.57% of votes

Peter Johnstone - 1,053 votes  6.57% of votes

Bill Day - 1,004 votes  6.26% of votes

Karen Toms - 916 votes  5.71% of votes

Steve Pickering - 859 votes  5.4% of votes

Peter Ellem - 835 votes  5.2% of votes

Only 129 postal votes recorded by 11:02pm Saturday 4 December 2021 and, prepoll voting is not yet included in these numbers. 

UPDATE

🙏🐨💖 This was the #BallinasKoalas mum n joey who went to the polling booth on Saturday 💕😍 pic.twitter.com/Zc0XLKqKYC

— Maria Matthes (@talkingkoala) December 5, 2021

NSW Local Government Elections Postponed Yet Again Due To COVID-19 Pandemic - this time until Saturday 4 December 2021

 

NSW Office of Local Government, media release, 25 July 2021:

Local government elections postponed

Shelley Hancock – Minister for Local Government

The NSW Government today announced a new date for the Local Government elections has been set for Saturday 4 December 2021.

Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said the decision, after extensive consultation with and advice from the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW Health, has been made in response to the COVID-19 situation.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and current Public Health Orders impacting Greater Sydney, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Local Government elections until later this year,” Mrs Hancock said.

“We have taken this step to postpone the election to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities, voters, polling staff and candidates.”

The NSW Government has worked with the Electoral Commission and NSW Health to implement a comprehensive plan to allow voters to cast their ballot safely in person, by post or online.

iVote (electronic voting) will also be available for the first time in the local council elections and the NSW Government has implemented changes to pre-poll to ensure that voters have 13 days to cast their ballot, reducing congestion on polling day.

The NSW Government has made available a total of $57 million for the elections in 2021, including $37 million to deliver them in a COVID safe way.

In this election, 5.2 million voters will cast their ballots as around 5,000 candidates vie for 1,200 councillor positions across 125 local councils.

Nominations will open on Monday 25 October 2021 and close on Wednesday 3 November 2021.

Prospective candidates can find more information at the Office of Local Government website at www.olg.nsw.gov.au

Former Maclean Shire mayor, former Clarence Valley mayor and current Armidale Regional Council Mayor Ian Tiley is provisionally listed as a candidate at the September 2021 Clarence Valley local government election

 

The Daily Telegraph/The DailyExaminer, 2 June 2021:

Dr Ian Tiley has revealed there is a strong chance he will run for a spot on Clarence Valley Council after his name was spotted on a Local Government Register of Candidates.

The registration of a candidate is a separate process to nomination and was brought in to help prospective candidates better understand the responsibilities of being a local government representative.

While Mr Tiley, who is currently the Mayor of Armidale Regional Council, was not a definite for nomination he said “the probability is that I will run”.

“I love local government and I have been involved continuously since 1964. I don’t feel inclined to retire just yet,” he said.

In 2016 Mr Tiley was appointed administrator of the newly formed Armidale Regional Council (ARC) and was elected to its first council in 2017.

Following political turmoil and the short term appointment of another administrator to ARC in 2020, Mr Tiley was elected Mayor.

Mr Tiley has had a 50-year career in local government, moving from senior management to being an elected representative in 1991, serving on a number of councils.

He is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Local Government at the University of New England and served on the NSW government Local Government Acts Taskforce.

Eager to get back to his home in Maclean on a more permanent basis, Mr Tiley said it’s “time to return to paradise”.

“Local government has been my work and passion. You are in a position to make a difference to the lives of everyday people,” he said.

“I don’t feel ready to put the feet up yet.”

Mr. Tiley is not the only candidate who has provisionally entered his name on the Local Government Register of Candidates for the Saturday 4 September 2021 election in the Clarence Valley.

So has Stephen Pickering, Phillip Belletty, Tara Matteson, Allison Waites, and Jeffrey Smith - all of whom like Ian Tiley appear at this stage to be standing as Independents. A seventh candidate, Donald Scott, has listed the National Party of Australia as his formal political party affiliation. 

Given that is is expected that at least seven of the nine sitting Clarence Valley councillors will seek re-election in September and, given that candidate nominations do not close until 4 August 2021, then a rather long ballot paper may be developing.

Throwing a cat amongst the pigeons ahead of the September 2021 NSW local government elections

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 17 February 2021:

Dr Ian Tiley. Image: Contributed

One way or another, Clarence Valley Council’s first mayor, Dr Ian Tiley, will be a key participant in the upcoming September 4 election of the valley’s next set of councillors.

Doctor Tiley, who is currently the mayor of Armidale Regional Council (ARC), said he is giving “serious consideration” to running for council.

“I clearly recognise that I’m not a young fellow anymore,” he said, “[and] I’ve got to look after my health and things like that, [but] I believe there’s a dire need of reform of Clarence Valley Council and I believe I can make a contribution to the reform process.

“I’ll be encouraging good people to run for council.

“The Clarence Valley Council, in my view, can achieve a whole lot of good for the people it represents, but it will need to change the way it operates.

“I still live in Maclean and am a Clarence Valley person, [but] for various reasons I stayed up here [in Armidale] longer than anticipated, but my heart is in the Clarence Valley.”

Previously, Dr Tiley served as mayor of the former Maclean Shire Council from 1997 to 2000 and was the first mayor of the merged Clarence Valley Council from 2005 to 2008.

Dr Tiley was appointed administrator of ARC in 2015, when Armidale Dumaresq and Guyra councils were merged, and held the role until September 2017.

With the ambition to lead ADC, he was subsequently the first elected, however, he “didn’t become the mayor and things deteriorated at council over a period of time”.

“On June 12 last year, the Minster suspended the council and installed an interim administrator,” he said.

“At that time, the mayor, deputy mayor and two other councillors resigned.

“On December 12, the Minister returned the council.

“We had an election for mayor and I was elected unopposed.”

Doctor Tiley said his ambition, in the short time between now and the implementation of the caretaker mode for NSW councils (four weeks prior to the election), was to meet the requirements of a performance audit.

“We have financial protocols to observe – that’s a tough situation but I’m using my experience to try and get the council back as a trusted and functioning entity,” he said.

“But it’s my intention to come home.”

NSW Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin is hoping Lismore City Council can reset and make local ratepayers and businesses its main priority in the months leading up to local government elections in September this year

 

Lismore City Council resets in lead-up to election: Saffin

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin is hoping Lismore City Council can reset and make local ratepayers and businesses its main priority in the months leading up to local government elections in September this year.

Responding to media inquiries for comment on the election overnight of Cr Vanessa Ekins as Mayor and the departure of General Manager Shelley Oldham, Ms Saffin said these were decisions for the elected body alone to make.

“Locals have told me it’s been a few torrid years at Council and what we need is some calm leadership for the good of ratepayers and residents. Looking after them must again be the Council’s main priority, as it is mine,” Ms Saffin said.

“I’d like to see more attention given to our CBD businesses and industry. The September election is likely to ring in changes in the make-up of a new Council who will have the job of recruiting a new GM with a view to the future.

“I wish only positive things for that future.”

Media Release, Wednesday, 10 February 2020.