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The ballot for the Orange City Council election will be re-drawn after Glenn Taylor’s nomination forms were re-examined and accepted by the NSW Electoral Commission.
The long-time councillor was sensationally ruled out of the running on Wednesday when what he labelled a “minor technicality” on his paperwork was detected by scrutineers as the cut-off time for nominations passed.
Cr Turner vowed to appeal, and on Friday night he and the other 87 candidates for the September 9 poll received an email notifying them that appeal had been upheld.
The NSW Electoral Commission said it received legal advice from the Crown Solicitors Office which led to the acceptance of Cr Taylor’s nomination.
“In light of this advice it appears there are sufficient grounds for the rejected nominations to be re-examined,” their statement read.
The end result is that a second ballot draw for all general election candidates is slated for 2pm on Tuesday.
Cr Taylor said he felt like he had “won the election” when he received word of his re-inclusion.
“It’s a tremendous result. We’ve been vindicated and are legally entitled to take our spot on the ballot,” he said.
While the council veteran will take his place at the helm of his now six-strong ticket the news was not all good, with his aspirations to replace retiring mayor John Davis in tatters.
The former deputy mayor did not challenge “another technicality on the mayoral form”, leaving the field for the city’s top job at 10.
As such, the lottery for position on the mayoral ballot will not be re-drawn on Tuesday.
Despite that disappointment, Cr Taylor felt like he had already “won the election” and vowed to knuckle down for the month-long campaign.
“The last few days have really brought me down to earth with who my true friends are,” the chair of council’s infrastructure committee said.
“I’m extremely grounded with my chances and my commitment to serving the community.
“I’m not a high-flyer, I’ve been elected by battlers over the years and I like to think I’ve been representing them.”
The news is a boon for the other five members of Cr Taylor’s election ticket: Brock Skelton, Nicole Herridge, Teresa Brakenridge, Charlie Ginty and Jim Finn.
Mr Skelton looks set to be the main beneficiary, with the group’s leader confident he will take the ticket’s deputy into office with him in a month’s time.
“I’ve never failed to bring my number two on to council since 1995,” Cr Taylor explained.