So Close Yet So Far.....

The final election results are out. After the preferences were allocated, I came 13th, so just missed out on bring elected to Council by a few votes. Congratulations to the 12 elected, both the previous Councilors and the newly elected ones. Congratulations also to the other candidates who stood but were not elected. It is pleasing to know that 20 people were prepared to accept nomination in this Election to help our Muswellbrook Shire grow and develop during the next 4 years. I'm disappointed that I have not been elected, but now will have the time to pursue my other dreams. I don't regard it as either winning or losing, just that I gave it a go and was one of those not elected. The final results can be seen on the AEC website. Of course I will wonder what I could have done to get those few extra votes needed, but I did the best I could with my limited time and finances, and I did enjoy meeting new people and seeing different parts of the Shire that I had previously not explored. Again, congratulations to all the other 19 candidates. And a big thank you to all those who helped me in any way and voted for me.

Still waiting . . .

No further updates on the voting as yet. I understand they started counting the preference votes today, and this will continue on till tomorrow or beyond. Maybe the updated results will be out late tomorrow. Keep your eyes tuned to the AEC website for any news....

The Voting has ended and the Counting started....

The first preference votes have been counted. Out of the 7,798 formal votes made, I received 290 or 3.72%, which has placed me 10th of the 20 candidates. 9 candidates received more votes than me, and 10 candidates received fewer votes than than me. 12 people will be elected to Council, but as preferences have not been counted as yet, I am still not sure if I will be one of the 12. The candidates with fewer 1st votes may end up with more preference votes, so they may end up being elected and not me. So it is a matter of waiting for a few more days to find out. If you would to see the latest voting figures go to the Australian Electoral Commission website http://vtr.elections.nsw.gov.au/ , click on "Results by local government area", then click on "Muswellbrook" then "Post Election Night". A big thank you for those who voted for me and supported me in any way.

Exhaustion....

I'm at the exhausted stage now, having spent several days driving along most of the county roads in the Shire to the Shires borders (except in the Martindale area - just ran out of time..), 2 days standing at the pre-poll centre in Bridge street yearstday and today, and walking every street in Muswellbrook and Denman letterboxing to about 10 at night during the past 2 weeks, and printing off the next lot of leaflets till about 1 in the morning on my old, very slow, inkjet printer...

Tomorrow will be the last big day, getting up at 5 to place posters at the polling centres, then spending some time at each of them till 6pm, than back home to flake... My wife and 2 children will take it in turns to be at the Basketball Stadium, but wont be there all day. With 20 candidates, I'm sure people will feel bombarded when they go to vote, and most will have made up their minds already, and the others will just do a donkey vote.

The candidates tally of 1st votes will be put up on the window at the prepoll centre in Bridge street when they are counted, which should be about 8-10pm. They will also be on the AEC website and updated on Saturday night as well. So I will probably stay at home and look at the telly and glance at the computer during the ad breaks, if i'm game...... A candidate will need about 650 1st votes to be on Council. If 650 isn't reached, then 2nd ,3rd and so on preference votes will be counted next week. I'm guessing I won't get 650 1st votes, so wont know if I get elected onto Council until mid-next week.

Thank you to all those people who have supported me in various ways in the lead up to tomorrow - provided feedback, shared concerns, and encouraged me to keep going on. Thank you!

Email

One thing I should have put on my blog page at its commencement was my email address so that people could email me. Here it is - max-llewelyn@aapt(dot)net(dot)au with the (dot)replaced by a .

Make your vote count !

It bit more about me....
I was born in Albury and attended Albury Primary and High Schools. I then completed my Diploma of Youth Work and worked in various Youth Work positions in Victoria and NSW. I received my Bachelor of Theology Degree in Sydney in 1990 and was a Minister at Forbes for 7 years and then Muswellbrook. I am presently a casual Funeral Assistant in the Muswellbrook Shire. I have worked as a vine pruner in a local vineyard, on the bottling line at Rosemount Wines, and various odd jobs such as a plasterer, boat salesman, and TV series actor. I am married to Lynne, who teaches piano to children in Denman and Muswellbrook. We have 3 beaut children, John and Sarah who attend Muswellbrook High, and Emma, who commenced University studies this year. In my spare time I enjoy gardening, restoring furniture, bushwalking and mowing people’s lawns for them.

More Ramblings . . .

Another day of driving to meet the rural residents, clocking up 154 kilometres. Now the towns of Sandy Hollow, Denman, and Muswellbrook, and most of the rural areas have been covered. Thanks to the 2 friends who helped me. There is only one rural area I have missed out on visiting - time has just run out.
Muswellbrook Shire Council says one of the problems it has is not having the necessary finance available to do all they would like to do in the Shire. Today I learnt something that would be funny if it wasn't so serious. Apparently Council has constructed a speed hump in Muswellbrook, and nearby residents have complained about the excessive noise made when vehicles pass over it. Council has looked into matters, and has discovered that a) the speed hump was constructed at the wrong height specification, and b) was constructed out of the wrong materials. The remedy? Remove the speed hump and build a new one of the correct height and correct materials. Why didn't Council get it right in the first place? Now the ratepayers have to pay twice for the construction costs of the one speedhump. One wonders what else the Council has got wrong and had to re-do at the ratepayers expense.....