FINALLY, election season is over.
Maybe not with a bang, but certainly not with a whimper either.
A push late in the piece saw more than 6500 ballots returned in Gawler, or 33.78 per cent of the population.
This was one of the highest turnouts for a local government election this town has seen in quite some time.
It is probably a reflection on the number of candidates vying for both Mayor and a spot on Council this year.
Congratulations must first go to Karen Redman, who had faced her largest field of opponents since she was first elected and still managed to come out on top.
Whether you like her leadership or not, you can’t argue with democracy and democracy has spoken.
Likewise for the 10 candidates who will make up the new elected body when it meets for the first time later this month. Of those, six are returning councillors, some of which have been involved with council for more than 12 years.
The remaining four are fresh faces, and hopefully with that comes fresh ideas and a fresh approach.
But this was the easy part, the hard part is still to come.
The breadth of candidates and the almost renewed interest in council affairs this year would indicate that Gawler has a desire for change.
The question for Ms Redman and the elected body will be, how do they respond? Is it more of the same or is it back to basics?
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the town is fractured, in a sense. That much seems clear in the spread of votes across the candidates, and the sheer number of nominees in the first place.
Just 97 votes seperated Ms Redman and Mr Little after the distribution of preferences.
If the turnout this year is anything to go by, the community will be more engaged than ever during this next four-year term.
How does the council continue to maintain that level of engagement for the next four years? Particuarly around budget time, that will be key.
Kudos to those who returned their ballot. Don’t let that fire burn out, keep asking more of your elected body. Keep the pressure on.
To the new council: you’ve got there, now what?
