Two people who were part of the first Central Coast Council that was suspended in October 2020 and then sacked in March 2022 have been elected after final counting has been completed in the 2024 Council elections.
They are Labor’s Kyle MacGregor who has been elected in the Wyong Ward and independent Jane Smith, who was the the first mayor of the newly formed Central Coast council in 2017, has been elected in the Gosford West Ward.
Four other previous councillors who have been elected are either from the former Wyong or the former Gosford councils.
They are:
# Lawrie McKinna, former and final Gosford mayor from 2016, who has been elected in the Gosford East Ward as Team Central Coast.
# Doug Eaton, independent Liberal, former and final Wyong mayor from 2016, has been elected in the Budgewoi Ward.
Mr Eaton stood as an independent with Liberal values. He is the president of Warnervale Branch of the Liberal Party.
# Belinda Neal, Labor, former Gosford councillor from the 1990s as well as former senator and MP has been elected in the Gosford West Ward.
# John McNamara, Liberal, former Wyong councillor until 2012, has been elected in the Wyong Ward.
We have nine new councillors.
# John Mouland, CEO of Regional Development Australia Central Coast in the Budgewoi Ward and Kyla Daniels of Cakes By Kyla, in the Wyong Ward, both of whom stood as members of Lawrie McKinna’s Team Central Coast.
Mr McKinna is the Chair of Regional Development Australia Central Coast and has previously said he would look at standing down from that position if elected, simply because of the time he would want to devote to Council.
Mr Mouland said he would not resign from RDA Central Coast.
# Three first time Liberal councillors: Trent McWaide in Gosford West Ward; Jared Wright in Gosford East Ward and Rachel Stanton in The Entrance ward.
# Three first time Labor councillors: Helen Crowley in Budgewoi Ward, Sharon Walsh in the Gosford East Ward and Margot Castles in The Entrance Ward.
# Independent Corinne Lamont, an anti-seawall campaigner for Wamberal Beach Save Our Sand has been elected in The Entrance Ward.
The make up is this:
# Five Labor councillors
# Five Liberal councillors, if you include Mr Eaton.
# Three Team Central Coast councillors.
# Two independents: Jane Smith and Corinne Lamont.
Candidates had 24 hours from the September 30 declaration to lodge a request for a recount.
No Ocrober 1, Electoral Commission staff confirmed there had been no recounts requested, so the results stand.
The councillors will meet on October 8 to elect their mayor and deputy mayor.
The referendum, as noted days ago, has been won with more than 60 per cent of the voting public agreeing that yes, they would like to see nine councillors in three wards instead of the current 15 councillors in five wards.
The nine councillors and three wards will take effect from the scheduled 2028 council elections.
