Gympie has elected an all-male Council to guide the region for the next four years, and the majority of them are newcomers to local government.
Long-serving Councillors Ian Petersen and Deputy Mayor Larry Friske announced earlier this year they intended to retire at the March 19 election, which left their two seats (Divisions 3 and 5) vacant for newcomers.
The remaining seven Councillors recontested their own seats but only three – Mayor Mick Curran and Crs Mark McDonald (Division 1) and Bob Leitch (Division 7) – were returned to office.
Rae Gâté Gate (Division 2), Wayne Sachs (Division 4), Ray Currie (Division 6) and Julie Walker (Division 8) were all defeated, many in closely fought ballots.
This means newcomers Glen Hartwig, Mal Gear, Daryl Dodt, Dan Stewart, Hilary Smerdon and James Cochrane will occupy two-thirds of the seats in the new Council.
Mayor Mick Curran told local media on Sunday he thought the large proportion of new councillors indicated Gympie Region residents were looking for change.
But he thought the upside of the situation was that the six new councillors would bring the necessary enthusiasm, skill sets and passion the region needed to move into the future.
- Related article: Gympie Election Results
