Trio of newcomers to join Belmont council

The three newcomers replaced incumbent councillors Janet Gee, Gerard Dornford and Brenda Martin, and will each serve four year terms, however this could be shortened if the State Government proceeds with plans to merge councils by July 2015.

Meanwhile Janet Powell and Paul Hitt were re-elected for another term in the south and west wards respectively.

First time candidate Ms Cayoun received the most votes out of any candidate in Belmont, winning 37.56 per cent of the vote in her area.

Ms Cayoun’s running mate Mr Hitt received the second highest number of votes, claiming 32.14 per cent.

Fewer residents participated in this year’s election than previous years, with only 25.69 per cent voting compared to 29.12 per cent in 2011 and 34.99 per cent in 2009.

Voter participation was down in local government elections across WA in contrast with the record number of candidates nominating to run.

The WA Electoral Commission received almost 800 nominations for just over 300 vacancies in local councils.