Old hands, fresh faces on new council

7/11/2020

6 Comments

2020-24 Bass Coast Shire Council

Bunurong Ward

* Brett Tessari

Leticia Laing

* Les Larke

Island Ward

* Michael Whelan

Ron Bauer

David Rooks

Western Port Ward

* Bruce Kent

Rochelle Halstead

* Clare Le Serve

By Catherine Watson

FIVE sitting councillors have been re-elected to the new Bass Coast Shire Council, bucking the trend of the past two elections where only a single councillor survived the poll.

The VEC declared the poll at midday yesterday and the new council will be sworn in on Monday.

In Bunurong, where five candidates contested three positions, former Bass Coast mayor Brett Tessari took out almost half of the first preference votes.

Second place in Bunurong went to a new candidate, Leticia Laing, and third place to Les Larke, a sitting councillor, who scraped in 25 votes ahead of Michael Nugent, a Greens candidate, following the distribution of preferences. Sitting councillor Julian Brown was unsuccessful.

The figures

5 old hands; 4 fresh faces.
6 men; 3 women.
42,627 enrolled voters
34,807 voted (81.65%)

In Island Ward, only one councillor, Michael Whelan, recontested and he topped the poll, closely followed by new councillors Ron Bauer and David Rooks. They were a long way ahead of the other councillors.

In Western Port Ward, where four candidates were contesting three positions, sitting councillor Bruce Kent topped the poll.

He was followed by new councillor Rochelle Halstead, a former mayor of Frankston in 2004 and Liberal candidate for Frankston in the 2006 state election, who out-performed two sitting councillors. Sitting councillor and former mayor Clare Le Serve was returned for her third term as a councillor. Geoff Ellis missed out.

* denotes sitting councillor

6 Comments

Meryl Tobin link

7/11/2020 04:14:28 pm

Congratulations to all councillors voted into office and congratulations and thank you to all councillors who have served Bass Coast over the last four years.
Thanks to live-streaming of Council, the public has been able to see and hear what goes on in Council and who says and does what. At the May meeting, we were pleased to hear every councillor speak in favour of Cr Clare Le Serve's motion asking the Council to approach the State Government to buy the GMH Proving Ground at Lang Lang to preserve the site's environmental, cultural and coastal habitat values. All councillor put forward powerful arguments, worked as a team and voting unanimously for the motion.
At the June meeting, it was refreshing to see an almost repeat performance regarding the proposed Maher's Landing marina, with councillors unanimously rejecting the unpopular proposal.
Hearing councillors understand such important issues gives electors heart and energizes them to keep working for common goals. As a conservationist who has worked for decades to preserve out natural environment from unsustainable development, I have been impressed at this development in Council and hope this move to advocate for and to protect our Shire's Distinctive Areas and Landscapes continues.
A special congrats and thank you to former Cr Geoff Ellis for his enormous contribution to protect the Holden Proving Ground site and the Grantville Grass Tree Forest. Not only did he work hard for the community in this area, but he was at the forefront of all movements to improve life for Bass Coast residents and visitors.
You will be missed, Geoff. All the best in this new chapter of your life.

Felicia Di Stefano

7/11/2020 05:37:04 pm

Congratulations everyone, welcome back and welcome. I look forward to achieving zero emissions very soon, a solar plant with batteries, enough social housing and care for those in our shire who are unable to cope with our complex society, a recycling plant and higher rates to enable us to afford such progressive, compassionate development. I know that Geoff Ellis was a hard worker towards social housing. We will miss his input.

Graham Jolly

7/11/2020 05:38:34 pm

Congratulations to all of the newly elected councillors. Issues to be corrected moving forward are of the utmost importance.
The red landfill garbage bin pick up in peak times and a complete public review of all garbage, recycle and green waste contracts must happen. Revision of the Media Engagement Policy 2020, the Transparency Policy 2020, the Investment Policy 2020, the Procurement Policy 2020, increasing the 50 word limit to 100 or 150 for community question time and reporting full details in the annual report for councils Capital Works Program Status % and full financials and a fully detailed report included as an attachment in the Annual report for all Capital Works Projects not expensed or completed at years end 30 June of a year. Ratepayers who pay rates including our newly elected councillors have a right to be presented with these missing reports and corrections of policy or contact matters. Changes are over due. The Audit and Risk Committee and its Charter must step up and target necessary important changes. I look forward for our councillors, the board of council taking control and lead instead of following.

chris day

8/11/2020 03:32:10 pm

Hopefully this new Council will listen to the Community that elected them to represent them. Geoff Ellis not being returned to Council was as a result of his attitude at public meetings in San Remo and Newhaven to Council concerns. Clare has gone from number 2 on the ticket to No 3 without the Virus impacting on areas around S R /Cape Woolamai/ Newhaven having many ratepayers unable to visit their property's for 7 months there may well have been more candidates standing. The demo graphics in this part of Bass Council area between permanent and non permanent ratepayers is significantly different but it showed in the Public Meetings on Issues like Skate Park and Local internal roads that ratepayers love this area whether there living there full or part time. It's not a cheap area to own a property with Bass Coast rates considerably more expensive than many suburbs of Melbourne with similar property values.Now Melbourne restrictions have been lifted the local businesses will get a significant lift in turn over. Obviously until overseas tourism returns the visitors from rest of Victoria is critical for the Bass economy.

Catherine Watson

8/11/2020 05:07:19 pm

Chris, that seems a very illogical explanation of Geoff Ellis’s demise since all three Western Port councillors were at the meeting you describe and they were all subjected to extreme rudeness from a largely hostile crowd of some 150 people. One of those councillors topped the poll.
Maybe, now that Trump has met his demise, we can all start treating one another with more courtesy, even people with whom we disagree.

TREVOR BROWN

9/11/2020 09:52:27 am

Catherine, I am not sure how Chris's post is discourteous. Were you at that meeting in San Remo? I was. It didn't start out hostile and "extreme rudeness' is slightly overstating the situation. Perhaps when people express their disagreement with what council is proposing that constitutes extreme rudeness. Several people advised the councilors of the physical and practical problems to building a skate park on the San Remo foreshore. The councilors dismissed those concerns out of hand. It was the total disregard of the concerns of the community that caused the residents to become irate. Some of the concerns raised at this meeting and lambasted by the councilors were in fact the actual reason why the San Remo foreshore was abandoned as a venue for the skate park. The reason, in a democracy, that we have elections is that we are able to express our dissatisfaction with sitting members by voting them out of office. I agree with Chris and consider if there had been more candidates there may have been more changes. Councilors are voted in to represent the residents and rate payers and be their voice in council. If the voters perceive that they are not taking this responsibility seriously they will vote them out at the next election. Assuming there are enough candidates.

Old hands, fresh faces on new council

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