Schier poised for win
Cairns 1st's Val Schier looks set to to claim victory against Kevin Byrne in the battle to become Mayor of the new Cairns Regional Council.
Final counting last night showed Ms Schier held a commanding lead with 27,509 votes (47.11 per cent) against Mr Byrne's 25,843 (44.26 per cent).
The field of councillors is expected to feature a host of new faces, including Robert Pyne in Division 3, Linda Cooper in Division 6, Di Forsyth in Division 7 and Julie Leu in the new Division 10, centred on Port Douglas.
Current councilors Alan Blake, Margaret Cochrane and Sno Bonneau won their divisions of 5, 8, and 9 respectively.
The race in Division 4 between Cairns Unity’s Paul Freebody and Cairns 1st’s Kirsten Lesina is still too close to call, with Mr Freebody leading by just 105 votes.
Division 2 also was fiercely contested with Jeff Martinuzzi leading Nancy Laskey by just eight votes last night.
Counting is expected to continue today.
See The Cairns Post on tomorrow for extensive coverage of the council elections in Cairns, the Tableland and Cassowary Coast.
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