By Ethan Benedicto
Akoonah Ward greets Scott William Dowling as its new councillor, following a recount that delayed the official announcement until Monday 11 November.
Alongside River Gum Ward, the declaration was postponed from Friday 8 November, when the other 10 wards and councillors were given their titles.
Dowling said that he felt “privileged to have been chosen to represent my community”.
“It’s a good feeling knowing that there’s a lot of people that believe in me, in my message and my vision, and it’s up to me now to deliver that.”
At the finale, Dowling notched a total of 8489 votes, surpassing Samuel Dennison at 7840 after the latter tacked on the highest first-preference votes to begin the race at 4235.
The total amount of first-preference votes required to constitute an absolute majority was 8165.
With this win, he also declared his bid for mayor, adding that he believes he is equipped with the right tools and is “fairly confident” for the task.
“I’ve got good credentials against my name, I’ve been in business a long time and understand what we need to do from a fiscal point of view so I think the qualifications to be mayor are good,” he said.
Looking back at the race, Dennison led the pack for the majority of the vote count, but tables turned with the transfer of 5262 ballot papers from Dianne Pagliuca at the final count, which had her second preference see Dowling mount an extra 3219 votes.
On the other hand, Dennison acquired 2043 from Pagliuca’s second preference counts.
Dennison said that while he is disappointed he didn’t get the win, he is thankful nonetheless for the support he received from the local community.
“I feel very thankful to all the residents who voted for me, I’m very proud to have received the majority of the first-preference vote,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed going out on the campaign trail, talking to the local community and getting feedback, and while I’m disappointed, I’m still happy that I’ve put my hand up to run.”
Congratulating Scott on being elected, Dennison said that he would be passing on any information he had gathered through his campaign and that while he may not be an elected official, he remains committed to working as a community advocate.
Hot on both Dowling’s and Dennison’s trail was Pagliuca, who, at the third round of second-preference counts, sat at a total of 5262 votes, just eight votes shy from Dowling’s 5270; at this point, Dennison still led with 5797.
Despite placing third, Pagliuca was optimistic, adding that “I learned so much about myself”.
“I didn’t realise I had such strength and fortitude because, you know, you cop a lot of criticism when you do this, but what sustained me was the positive aspects.
“So many people said such really nice supportive things and, you know, that’s what I’d like to focus on, the positives rather than negatives,” she said.
With her being happy for Scott on his win, Pagliuca plans to take part in a number of volunteer opportunities, and despite not claiming the win, is looking ahead at what she can offer to the people.
After the initial count, Patrick Ferdinands was the first to have his total of 1201 ballot papers distributed amongst the remainder of candidates for second-place counts.
He was followed by Kushal Shah who finished with 2252, with the majority of his votes’ second preferences going to Mush Rahaman with 706.
Rahaman, who ran a strong campaign, said that “things didn’t go the way we expected them to, but I believe that people have made their vote”.
“I am sure that they have made the right choice and I wish Scott good luck; as a community representative, my support will be there if he needs it.
“We will keep that promise prior to the election result that we will be working together no matter the outcome.
“However that doesn’t mean that the things that I focused on in my campaign, such as safety, the elderly and support for local business will not go on, it will,” he said.
Remaining steadfast, and much like the others, Rahaman looks to uphold his campaign promises in the upcoming future.
Dowling said that the “first thing I want to do is have a look at the budget and see where we sit”.
“What they’ve already got planned for the area, since that may eat into some of my goals such as public safety, fixing amenities and so on.
“So once I can find out where the priorities sit and what’s already been agreed to, I’ll be able to put them in order.”
After the recount and distribution of preferences, Dowling amassed 8489 total votes to secure the seat of councillor for Akoonah Ward.
