Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other—
[Macbeth, Scene VII]
The Ambition:
"I will be putting my hand
up for deputy mayor and after doing that job for a year I will be running for
mayor." [Cr.Andrew Baker, The Daily Examiner, 20 September 2012]
Of the 28,647 formal first preference votes, 11,899 voters (41.5%) did not
want any previous councillors returned.
Five of the previous six councillors received a combined total of just 7,515 (26.23%) of the vote.
3,075 voters (10.73%) gave their vote to me (more than 40% of the combined votes of those 5). [Cr. Andrew Baker, The Daily Examiner, 24 September 2012]
Five of the previous six councillors received a combined total of just 7,515 (26.23%) of the vote.
3,075 voters (10.73%) gave their vote to me (more than 40% of the combined votes of those 5). [Cr. Andrew Baker, The Daily Examiner, 24 September 2012]
The Reality:
[Clarence Valley Review, 19 September 2012]
Andrew Baker was not the first choice of 89.27 per cent of people who cast formal votes at the 8 September 2012 Clarence Valley local government election.
The Outcome:
On 25 September 2012 two councillors nominated for Mayor: Richie Williamson and Karen Toms. An ordinary voting process saw the votes go Williamson 7, Toms 2 in only one round - Williamson elected Mayor for next twelve months.
Andrew Baker is popularly believed to have voted for Toms.
The mayoral election was followed by four councillors nominating for Deputy Mayor: Craig Howe, Andrew Baker, Jeremy Challacombe and Margaret McKenna.
First round vote: Howe 4, Baker 3, Challacombe 1, McKenna 1 - McKenna eliminated.
Second round vote: Howe 4, Baker 4, Challacombe 1 - Challacombe eliminated.
Third round vote: Howe 5, Baker 4 - Howe elected Deputy Mayor for next twelve months.
Conclusion:
Although Baker is believed to have secured Toms' (and possibly Kingsley's) vote from the start , with McKenna's vote going to him in the second round, he lost any chance of Challacombe's support by the deciding round.
Baker was his own worst enemy. Already being viewed as generally unsympathetic to the Grafton demographic, he compounded this by alienating many re-elected councillors when he publicly bagged them a day before this vote.
So in the end he lost any hope of gaining his desired prize because he couldn't keep his finger off the send button on his email program.
Andrew Baker was not the first choice of 89.27 per cent of people who cast formal votes at the 8 September 2012 Clarence Valley local government election.
The Outcome:
On 25 September 2012 two councillors nominated for Mayor: Richie Williamson and Karen Toms. An ordinary voting process saw the votes go Williamson 7, Toms 2 in only one round - Williamson elected Mayor for next twelve months.
Andrew Baker is popularly believed to have voted for Toms.
The mayoral election was followed by four councillors nominating for Deputy Mayor: Craig Howe, Andrew Baker, Jeremy Challacombe and Margaret McKenna.
First round vote: Howe 4, Baker 3, Challacombe 1, McKenna 1 - McKenna eliminated.
Second round vote: Howe 4, Baker 4, Challacombe 1 - Challacombe eliminated.
Third round vote: Howe 5, Baker 4 - Howe elected Deputy Mayor for next twelve months.
Conclusion:
Although Baker is believed to have secured Toms' (and possibly Kingsley's) vote from the start , with McKenna's vote going to him in the second round, he lost any chance of Challacombe's support by the deciding round.
Baker was his own worst enemy. Already being viewed as generally unsympathetic to the Grafton demographic, he compounded this by alienating many re-elected councillors when he publicly bagged them a day before this vote.
So in the end he lost any hope of gaining his desired prize because he couldn't keep his finger off the send button on his email program.
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