Shire of Denmark president keeps her mantle after local government elections

Cr Ceinwen Gearon was re-elected unopposed for another term as Shire of Denmark president on Tuesday night as five new councillors were sworn in. Cr Kingsley Gibson was elected unopposed as deputy president after former deputy Mark Allen was unseated by just five votes in Saturday’s local government elections. Shire chief executive David Schober said he expected the new-look council to bring new ideas to the table. “Council now consists of five first-time councillors, so I think we can expect them to bring a level of new thinking to council,” Mr Schober said. “We are saying goodbye to Crs Allen, Bowley, Osborne and Seeney, who were all passionate contributors on council but the team here at the Shire is looking forward to continuing work on behalf of our community with the new council.” Denmark now has a female-majority council, with three new female councillors and the re-elected Cr Jan Lewis joining Cr Gearon and Cr Janine Phillips. Mr Schober said it was not the first time the council had been female-majority and it would not be the last. “We are lucky to live in such a passionate community so we are never wanting for quality candidates come local government election time,” he said. “We look forward to continue working closely with Cr Gearon and congratulate her on her re-election as Shire president. “We’re also pleased to welcome Cr Gibson into his new role as deputy president, following the departure of Cr Allen who will be missed.”