BELLINGEN Shire may soon have a new Mayor with Steve Allan shoring up as the favourite to take out the Mayoral election, possessing 59% of first preference votes (4,128 votes) as of Tuesday 7 December.

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Current Bellingen Shire Mayor Cr Dominic King, who has served in the role since he was popularly elected at the 2016 local government election, is in 2nd place possessing 28.63% of the first preference votes (1,993 votes) as of Tuesday, followed by Bellingen Shire Labor’s Andrew Woodward with 12.07% of first preference votes (840 votes).

A total of 6,961 (100%) of Formal votes had been counted as of Tuesday and 206 (2.87%) Informal/Other votes.

A total of 10,286 residential and non-residential electors are enrolled to vote in the election in the Bellingen Shire local government area.

In the Councillor race, the Group F team consisting of Steve Allan, Jo Brotherton, Ellie Tree, Lee Grundy, Janette Fairleigh and Steve Ryan was leading the vote tally as of Tuesday with 33.45% of Formal votes (2,209 votes), followed by the Group C Greens Team consisting of Dominic King, Jennie Fenton, Gary Fry and Toni Wright-Turner with 26.30% of Formal votes (1,737 votes), and in third place was the Group E Independent team consisting of Joanne Cook, Graeme Shephard, Tabitha Vanzanten, Christopher Shirley and Philip Kennedy with 13.67% of Formal votes (903 votes).

A total of 6,604 (100%) of Formal votes had been counted as of Tuesday and 511 (7.18%) Informal/Other votes.

Final election results are expected to be formally announced around 21 December.

By Emma DARBIN