UPDATE: Darryn Lyons has stormed home with the distribution of preferences to become Geelong’s new mayor after an nerve-wracking poll count that saw him more than double the vote of his nearest competitor.
Mr Lyons finished with a total 38,406 primary votes, ahead of publicist Stephanie Asher with 18,606 and former mayor Ken Jarvis on 15,229.
After preference distribution, he tallied 70,795 to beat Ms Asher on 58,115.
Third place-getter was former deputy mayor Anthony Aitken, ejected from the race at 32,743 after preferences and fourth Mr Jarvis, who exited at 22,064.
The lengthy 16-candidate poll saw the following final order, from fifth to last: John Mitchell, Lily Stefanovic, Jock Irvine, Rodger Marsden, Doug Mann, Angelo Kakouros, Stephen Yewdall, Greg Lacy, Margrette Lewis, Tom O’Connor, John Smith, Greg Jones.
An emotional Mr Lyons said he was proud and honoured to win the mayoralty after the final count was declared by the Victorian Electoral Commission at Waurn Ponds at midday.
He said his first priority was to meet with his fellow councillors to ensure the council was speaking with one voice for Geelong before any major announcements or projects were declared.
Mr Lyons said the count, which extended well past an anticipated finish of late Sunday, was nerve-wracking.
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EARLIER: GEELONG is in for a big hair day today with flamboyant businessman Darryn Lyons set to assume the job of the city’s mayor.
With vote counting down to its final hours, and preferences still being sorted, the mohawked hotelier is running at 30 per cent of primaries – double his nearest rivals, publicist Stephanie Asher and former mayor Ken Jarvis.
After a hectic five-week campaign, Mr Lyons went to the weekend vote count in pole position.
Sportsbet had the ex-paparazzi boss at odds of $1.33, ahead of businessman Mr Jarvis on $4 and Ms Asher at $11. Former councillor Anthony Aitken was next at $12 and ex-mayor John Mitchell on odds of $15.
This morning saw Mr Lyons across the national media, conservatively rating his chances as good but refusing to claim victory “until the fat lady sings”.
Mr Lyons told Today Show host Karl Stefanovic of his passion for Geelong. He rejected negative talk about the city’s economy, pointing to Deakin University’s growth, to Cotton On’s massive international brand, to new technology and research at Waurn Ponds’ Carbon Rev and burgeoning health services such as REACH.
Geelong was open for business, he said, and called on everyone in Geelong to promote the city.
Victorian Electoral Commission is expected to announce the final vote late this morning.
_ Noel Murphy, John Van Klaveren
