September 8 2017

Tomorrow is election day and voters in the areas will be relieved it is over after a month of solid campaigning.

The last week has seen an increase in posts as the candidates who have pages on Facebook have been giving more details on their plans for the future if they are elected.

We’ve seen things like Kerbside Recycling, Truck Stops, Town Hall, Arts, Finances and more being discussed by candidates and voters.

Below is once again all the candidates with links to their pages;

Deniliquin
Norm Brennan
Airlie Circuitt
Ashley Hall
Norm McAllister
Pete Robinson
Sue Taylor
Peter Connell
Andrew Howley
Jeff Shand
Pat Fogarty
James Sides
Peta Betts

Warragoon
Nick Metcalfe

Conargo
Rob Sobolewski

Wanganella
Mac Wallace

Booroorban
Peter McCrabb

Moonbria
Margaret Bull

Voting can be done at the following locations from 8am until 5pm on Saturday

Blighty Public School
Conargo Public School
Deniliquin Dental Clinic
Deniliquin High School
Deniliquin North Public School
Edward Public School

You only have to vote for five people out of the seventeen candidates and of those five give them a number between one and five in order of your preference.

If you desire to, you can number the boxes all the way down to 17 or stop at a random number like 8 or 13.

The fact there is a polling booth in Blighty is good news for Rovers players, staff and fans as they can pop in, vote and get to the ground and courts with plenty of time to spare.

Rams players, staff and fans may have to do their voting first up in order to get to their Semi Finals matches in time.

Things to consider

– Who has experience?
– Who is modest in what they do and will do?
– Who has great ideas for the future?
– Who really cares about Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo etc?
– Who would visit Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo etc regularly?
– Who is friendly and dedicated in what they do in life?
– Who would visit businesses regularly to see how they are?
– Who would consult the community regularly for ideas?
– Who would do the job for love of the ERC and not for photo ops?

With several of the candidates having pages, it is a good opportunity for voters to spend a bit of today writing to them with any concerns and seeing what their answers are in order for them to give a clear picture of who to vote for.

Final Thoughts

The ERC will be facing challenges, the merger between the Deniliquin Council and Conargo Shire was unwanted by many locals as it was forced by the NSW Government and it still isn’t a popular choice.

Will those outside Deniliquin accept Deniliquin virtually being the capital of the ERC and a council dominated by Deniliquin residents? Could Deniliquin residents accept people from Conargo etc setting up the future of the town?

Towns like Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo, Moonbria, Wanganella, Booroorban and more cannot be forgotten in this new era of the ERC, the area cannot be like cities and towns in State Politics where the cities get the bulk of cash and the country towns get the scraps.

Yes the ERC needs experienced hands but the ERC also needs the best of brains and hearts on the council and people who can make sure the whole ERC is well looked after.

We wish the candidates the best of luck and don’t forget to vote tomorrow readers.