Two new faces will join re-elected councillors in Harvey council chambers

Two new faces will be joining the Shire of Harvey council alongside two returning councillors following Saturday’s local election.

Karen McCarthy and Laurie Morley earnt themselves a spot in the chambers, alongside re-elected councillors Wendy Dickinson and Craig Carbone.

Former councillors James Junio, Dakota Krispyn and Joe Capogreco were not re-elected, and former shire president Paul Gillett, Aussie Trump, Charmaine May and Matt Sharp also missed out.

The four candidates were voted in over the weekend with less than 30 per cent of electors casting their vote with 6152 votes out of the 22,109 sent out received.

It was a strong start for Cr Morley from the beginning, taking the lead during the first preference count.

He finished with the highest number of first preference votes with 1060 in his favour.

It was tough to separate those who followed — Cr Carbone received 775, Cr Dickinson got 716 and Cr McCarthy secured 711.

The optional preferential voting system did not make a significant difference to the results, with the top four candidates remaining in their places.

New to the council, Cr McCarthy is an avid member of the shire of Harvey community and was the 2023 community citizen of the year.

She also founded the Australind Scout Group and has been secretary of the Leschenault Progress Association for 20 years.

In his first time running for the council, Cr Morley said he felt humbled by the support he received from the voters.

A retired police officer, Cr Morley worked as an officer-in-charge at both the Yarloop and Harvey police stations and said he had a strong connection to the community.

“I truly love the Harvey shire community, we’ve got so much in our shire to offer people,” he said.

Following a mantra of community, collaboration and commitment, Cr Morley said he would be there to represent the whole shire and would make himself available to all members of the community to discuss issues of concern.

“Local government is really about listening to people, thinking clearly and acting responsibly on behalf of the community,” he said.

All four candidates elected will serve a four-year term expiring in October 2029.