It now looks almost certain that the first ever popularly elected mayor of Wollondilly Shire will be Matt Gould.
But he may also end up with a record that will stand for some time: the lowest primary vote.
At last count and with 83.5 counted, Gould, pictured at right, was leading the mayoral race with 22.6 percent of primary votes.
His closest opponent, the former Judy Hannan, was on 20.5 percent when she conceded late last week.
“Cr Hannan and I have spoken this evening after the online votes have come in and she has congratulated me on the result,’’ mayor-elect Matt Gould said on his Facebook page.
“I look forward to working constructively with her and the other elected councillors to address the significant challenges facing the shire throughout the upcoming term.
“To those that ran for council but weren’t successful, thank you for being willing to put your names forward and give it a go. It’s not an easy thing to do,’’ he said.
Independent Ray Law is in third spot with a respectable 17.1 percent of primaries.
Matthew Deeth was fourth with 16.8, with incumbent mayor Robert Khan next after receiving 11.6 percent of the vote, just .2 percent more than last placed Michael Banasik.
However Deeth won election to council in East Ward, along with Paul Rogers, both with full quotas.
Also set to be elected without a full quota are Michael Banasik and Suzy Brandstater.
It means Robert Khan loses both the mayoral vote and possibly his seat on council, where he has served one term.
In North Ward, Judy Hannan won one of the four spots, with Hilton Gibbs also elected.
Beverley Spearpoint, who has just 47 percent of one quota looks likely to be elected, with the final spot still up for grabs with 17 percent of the vote yet to be counted.
- In Liverpool, with almost 80 percent of the vote counted, the Liberal Party candidate, Ned Mannoun, looks to have secured the mayoralty for the next two years and nine months.
He received 42 percent of the voter, while Labor’s Nathan Hagarty was at 38.1 percent.
