People Power in Perenjori
Shire of Perenjori 27 Oct 2020

“It was a great day for democracy” said Perenjori Commissioner Hon. Paul Omodei, commenting on the first election of Councillors following the dissolution of the Council in 2019.

“We’ve had a 74% voter turn out today, resulting in the election of seven impressive candidates to make up the new Council”, he said, “Clearly the people of Perenjori want a say in who governs their community, and the turnout in this election proves it.”

The Commissioner was happy to be handing back the Council to the community, saying that the people of Perenjori deserved good governance and the new Council had the opportunity to take the lead.

“This is a fresh start…as I move around the community, people tell me they aren’t interested in looking back – they want the place to move forward and focus on the future…a new Council with a stable professional workforce and the strong backing of the community has every opportunity to do that.”

Successful candidates at the election were;

BRADFORD, Daniel (3-year term)KING, Chris (3-year term)SUTHERLAND, Jude (3-year term)BAXTER, Brian (3-year term)BRYANT, Colin (1-year term)HEPWORTH, Leslie (1-year term)LOGUE, Phillip (1-year term)

Commissioner Omodei thanked the WA Electoral Commission staff for their efforts in conducting the postal vote and running the polling place at the Shire Office today.

“They are a professional and dedicated group of people who do important work in making sure that the process works and has integrity.”

The Commissioner also acknowledged the unsuccessful candidates.

“Not everyone can win the vote, but competition for places on Council gives the community a choice as to who governs them and that choice is critical to the success of a democracy at any level, be it national, state or local.”

New councillors will be sworn in at a Special Council meeting on Tuesday.