March 28 the City of Logan had a local government election. Remember that? Yet two weeks later the Electoral Commission Queensland has only confirmed two elected candidates.
For a city that has been without leadership since the beginning of May 2019 and prior to that been run in a not so honest way by some, the City of Logan really needs the council sworn in.
Electoral Commission Queensland has not only been letting the public down by having a rather dismal website, they are also taking way to long in counting all of the votes. Granted the postal votes have still been arriving yet the ECQ have already been counting first preferences.
Division One will see a return to office for Lisa Bradley while Division Four will see Laurie Koranski retake her role. Both women were councillors prior to the administration taking over and were part of the four councillors who blew the whistle on corruption within the walls of Logan City Council (along with Darren Power and Jon Raven).
While none of these divisions have been called by the ECQ, with over 70 per cent of votes counted in most divisions, it is looking like this is how Logan City Council might shape up.
Mayor – Darren Power
Division 1 – Lisa Bradley (confirmed)
Division 2 – Teresa Lane
Division 3 – Mindy Russell
Division 4 – Laurie Koranski (confirmed)
Division 5 – Jon Raven
Division 6 – Tony Hall
Division 7 – Tim Frazer
Division 8 – Jacob Heremaia
Division 9 – Scott Bannan
Division 10 – Miriam Stemp
Division 11 – Natalie Willcocks
Division 12 – Karen Murphy
While division 12, six and seven are still in a close battle and could still turn when the ECQ finally get to their job, the rest are almost in the bag.
Speaking with candidate Karen Murphy she said it’s really close at this stage, with only 67.12% of the vote counted.
“I’m in front however we are NOT over the line yet – as preferences may yet change the order! We hope to have a final result by the end of next week.
“I have a wonderful network of family, friends, and supporters, all of whom have done a wonderful job through this campaign.
“Fingers crossed,” she said.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, Logan needs leaders in local government and while the candidates are itching to get started, for all the new councillors it will be a big learning curve from day one. This doesn’t mean that good decisions can’t be made to support the community.
Jon Raven said with the count stalled while ECQ drags its heels I’m feeling the community’s frustration.
“They did the right thing by voting despite corona virus concerns and they deserve to know who their new Councillors are.
“The community needs Council to relieve cost of living pressure during this crisis, but it looks we could be sidelined for up to a month before we get sworn in.”
While eight of the candidates can almost celebrate, they never know what the preferences will bring so it is limbo land for them.
“In Division three, the numbers are certainly encouraging, but the events of this past month have taught me not to take anything as a given,” said Mindy Russell.
“The wait has been frustrating, but everyone involved is doing their best through extreme and unprecedented circumstances.
“Like the rest of the city, I’m looking forward to having a fresh and functioning Council as soon as possible.”
All of the Logan City Council will have a lot of work to do and hopefully the people of Logan will get to see some hard work from all involved and benefits to the community that have been missing for the past year.
With all of this unknown happening in the world, it would be good to know who will be leading Logan into the future. Guess it is still a waiting game for now.
