By Parker McKenzie
Andrew Fullagar will join Yarra Ranges Council as councillor for Streeton Ward after winning the February by-election.
After narrowly finishing second in the 2020 council elections, Mr Fullagar has done one better by winning with 55 per cent of vote after preferences were distributed.
He beat out six other nominees — all of them men — with Greens candidate Wil Mikelsons finishing second with 44.96 per cent of the vote.
Mr Fullagar received 24.39 per cent of the first preference vote —narrowly behind Mr Mikelson’s 25.32 per cent of the vote —but won by over 10 per cent once counting was completed.
The by-election was triggered when Cathrine Burnett-Wake took up a Liberal Party vacancy in the Victorian State Senate following Edward O’Donohue’s resignation in September 2021.
Mr Fullagar will represent Streeton Ward until the 2024 council general election.
There were 12184 enrolled voters in Streeton Ward, which includes the suburbs of Upwey, Tremont, Ferny Creek, Sassafras and Mount Dandenong and parts of Olinda, Upper Ferntree Gully, Kilsyth and Montrose.
