Three Shire of Harvey councillors re-elected as three new faces join council

The Shire of Harvey has returned three existing councillors in the weekend’s result, while three new faces will join the council.

Ten candidates vied for six positions on the council this election, resulting in a close race for positions.

All three councillors who were up for re-election won their races, headlined by Robyn Coleman.

She will serve her second four-year term on the council after taking home 26.3 per cent of the vote on first preferences, the best result by any candidate since at least 2011.

Cr Coleman said it felt great to receive such overwhelming support.

“It is a resounding endorsement by the community for me and I thank the community hugely for their support,” she said.

Cr Coleman admitted she did not expect the result, but noted she was visiting communities across the Shire every week.

“The decisions I make are not always my personal views but reflect the views of the community,” she said.

“I really want to thank the people who voted for me and I will continue to support them in council.”

Ms Coleman congratulated Michelle Campbell on becoming the first popularly-elected Shire president.

“The first thing I did when I saw the result was call her to send my congratulations,” she said.

Results were close between the remaining four elected candidates, with just over one per cent separating them on first preference votes.

John Bromham returns to the council with a 12.2 per cent first preference vote, receiving the same number of first preference votes as newcomer Alicia Hitchcock.

Well-known charity auctioneer Tiny Holly took fourth place with 11.2 per cent of first preferences, nudging out returning councillor Craig Carbone who received less preferences but more first preference votes at 12.1 per cent.

James Junio will fill the extra vacancy left by Michelle Campbell’s successful run for the top job, with 7.7 per cent of the first preference vote.

There were less positions up for election than usual, with local government reforms seeing the total number of elected members drop from 13 to 11 on Saturday night.

27.2 per cent of residents returned their ballot papers this election, a slight increase on the 2021 results.