Published on Monday, 21 October 2019 at 10:46:41 AM
Dennis Wellington will become the City of Albany’s longest serving Mayor after winning the community’s support and being elected to the top job for a third term.
The Mayoral position was one of seven Council vacancies going into the 2019 Local Government Elections on Saturday, with 23 candidates vying to represent their community in the chamber for the next four years.
At the end of the count late on Saturday night, Albany had a mix of incumbent councillors re-elected and new faces joining Council’s ranks.
Mayor Wellington was returned with 6,534 votes or 71.87 per cent of the vote, a convincing result over his only rival Cheryl Kneebone with just 2,557 votes (28.13 per cent).
A full third term will clock up 12 years’ service as Mayor for Mr Wellington, and 22 years since he was first elected as a Councillor for Frederickstown Ward in 2001.
“I’m very proud of what this Council has been able to achieve for Albany and honoured that the electorate has confidence in the direction of Council,” Mayor Wellington said.
“There is plenty we can still achieve and we’ll be working hard to continue to drive Albany towards more renewable energy options, planning for our bicentenary in 2026, and promote and attract investment in our community through development and tourism growth.”
Paul Terry was returned as Councillor for Breaksea Ward with 797 votes (51.49 per cent), Greg Stocks was re-elected to Frederickstown Ward with 995 votes (57.45 per cent), John Shanhun held Vancouver Ward with 614 votes (38.64 per cent), and Sandie Smith re-won West Ward with 668 votes (46.04 per cent).
Changes came in the Kalgan and Yakamia wards, with Matt Benson-Lidholm elected in Kalgan with 596 votes (37.99 per cent), and Chris Thomson taking Yakamia with 472 votes (32.64%).
Mayor Wellington congratulated the successful candidates and thanked outgoing Councillors Bill Hollingworth in Kalgan and Anthony Moir in Yakamia for their service.
“Bill and Anthony have been a big part of our team, championing sustainability initiatives that has helped Council become cleaner and greener and lead the way in this regard,” he said.
Full election results for Albany can be found at www.elections.wa.gov.au.
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