FAVOURITES have again been pushed aside in the scramble to be frontrunners in Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Mayoral Stakes.
Last week’s 3:1 combination of Cr Sarah Race for mayor with Cr Lisa Dixon as deputy has been overtaken by the 2:1 duo of Cr Anthony Marsh with Cr Dixon deputy (“Race is ‘on’ for mayor” The News 19/10/21).
Cr Marsh’s strong run (he was 10:1 last week) appears to have been enabled by the shire’s officer punters switching his deputy from Cr Race to Cr Dixon.
The Cr Race and Cr Dixon combination has now dropped out to 4:1, followed by Cr Marsh for mayor with Cr Paul Mercurio deputy at 7:1 and, with first time mentions, Cr Antonella Celi (mayor) and Cr Susan Bissinger (deputy) 8:1.
Further behind in the field is Cr Race with current mayor Cr Despi O’Connor as deputy, 10:1 (last week 6:1); Cr Race with Cr Marsh 12:1 and, same contenders but different jobs, Cr Marsh (mayor) and Cr Race (deputy) also 12:1.
Cr Marsh taking over the top job with Cr O’Connor as his deputy is a 15:1 bet, while Cr O’Connor retaining her position with Cr Marsh as her deputy is 20:1.
Councillors yet to get a mention in the betting ring are Steve Holland, David Gill, Kerri McCafferty and Debra Mar.
The shire’s 11 councillors meet for the annual “mayoral dance” on 16 November to choose the next mayor, a position that offers a $100,000 allowance and, currently, an electric BMW hatch.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 26 October 2021
