Mayoral candidates remain optimistic and realistic in lead-up to the Greater Geraldton election

With just one day left to secure the top job in the Greater Geraldton election, the four mayoral candidates are putting in their final strides to help them cross the line before the votes are counted on Saturday night. Of the 28,955 postal vote packages sent out, as of Wednesday, just 28.78 per cent of them had been returned. Which means the WA Electoral Commission has received just 8171 votes from residents in the City of Greater Geraldton. This indicates an ever lower voter turnout than normal, with voluntary local government elections typically returning a 30 to 35 per cent result. Incumbent mayor Shane Van Styn is hopeful to ring in his third term after being in the role for eight years. Optimistic about securing the mayoral role once more, Mr Van Styn used his proven leadership skills as a foundation for his campaign, and said he had received positive feedback. The issues addressed by most by residents to Mr Van Styn during the campaign were centred around locals wanting to see the city continue to improve. “People are just wanting to see the continuation of strong leadership and the improvement of the city,” he said. The two-term incumbent was confident he would remain mayor, but remained modest on the fact that he stood beside three other candidates. Mr Van Styn has begun cleaning the mayoral office, and said he will be cleaning the mayor’s car “just in case.” “You have 72 hours after the result is announced to hand over the office and car so you don’t want to be giving them back messy,” he said. Mr Van Styn’s strongest challenger, deputy mayor Jerry Clune, has drawn on his council experience to proclaim he is capable of fulfilling the top job. Cr Clune said many of the concerns voiced to him during his campaign have been the responsibility of State Government. “Issues like housing, power upgrades and main roads — we will always point them in the right direction and give information on the situation, and help them talk to the right people,” Cr Clune said. The farmer from Bringo said he was not “overly confident” with his odds but that he was “definitely in the race”. The count will begin at 6pm on Saturday night, but depending on how close it is, the results from the mayoral and councillor elections might not be known until early next week. New councillors and the new mayor are set to be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon. A meeting directly after will see council elect a deputy mayor, and Cr Clune will be throwing his hat in the ring if unsuccessful in the mayoral election. “It’s up to the other councillors to decide, but I think I’ve got a lot to offer,” he said. FIFO worker and mayoral candidate Tammy Croasdale is quietly confident her campaign will lead her to victory. Ms Croasdale has been all eyes and ears during the race, and said the people of Geraldton wanted to see suburb maintenance above all. She wants to ensure ratepayers dollars were not being washed down the drain by community facilities which go unused. “There are community locations that were probably used 20, 30, 40 years ago but they’re not getting used now like the Drummonds Cove Hall, or the Walkaway Hall,” she said. Ms Croasdale said funds used for unused facilities could be directed into activities to combat youth boredom, which would help crime rates., or improve inclusion access in the city. The fight for the top job will not end on Saturday for Ms Croasdale, who likes her odds but remains modest. “I’m feeling excited and confident and if I’m not elected, well then I’ll be seeing you in another four years Geraldton,” she said. Council and mayoral candidate Aaron Horsman is happy with the community’s reception to his candidacy. Mr Horsman said he had received supportive feedback on his campaign, and in turn was listening to the concerns of residents in the hopes he could jump straight into action. He said listening to residents concerns had revealed a need for general upkeep of the city, in the form of mowing and gardening public spaces. Mr Horsman said he was interested in implementing a recycling program for the city, to make use of the new transfer stations being built at Meru Waste Facility. He is grateful for the support he has been shown, and is “quietly confident” in his ability to win the race, but acknowledges “it could go anyone’s way, and you have to be a realist about this sort of thing.” “Shane has a fairly large support base, Jerry has a fair chance but I think Tammy and I are the underdogs,” Mr Horsman said. Votes will be counted in council chambers on Saturday from 6pm onwards, and due to the preferential voting system, the results will be announced between Sunday and Tuesday.