A familiar face will have the opportunity to re-join Corangamite Shire council if current councillor Bev McArthur is successful in her bid for Spring Street.
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Mrs McArthur was pre-selected for the Liberal Party in the Upper House seat of Western Victoria on Sunday.
If Mrs McArthur is elected in November, it will spark a countback in Corangamite Shire’s central ward. That would open the door for former councillor Wayne Oakes to re-take a seat at the council table.
Mr Oakes, who served on the council for four years until the 2016 election, said he had yet to make a decision.
“It’s something that I would definitely consider,” Mr Oakes said.
In June, the council adopted a policy around councillors standing as political candidates.
Chief executive officer Andrew Mason said once a candidate was endorsed they could remain a councillor, including receiving an allowance, but had to be careful not to use council resources as part of their election campaign.
Once a nominated candidate, Mrs McArthur would need to take a leave of absence, which would effectively be from the end of October in the lead-up to November’s state election. If elected, the council would then approach the Local Government Minister to find a replacement.
Mr Mason said given it was a multi-member ward, Mrs McArthur’s replacement would be decided on a countback, with the only contender being Mr Oakes.
In a message on Facebook, Mrs McArthur said she was “humbled and honoured to have been pre-selected to the Liberal Party’s number one Western Region position”.
“Thank-you to all those who have sent messages of support and congratulations from across the western region and Victoria,” she wrote.
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