Marshall Chalk has gained a significant lead in the tally for Division 5 in the Scenic Rim Council election.
The former NRL player pulled ahead of the other three contenders with 52.25 percent of primary votes with 79.96% percent of the vote counted.
Chalk has 1929 votes in his corner, coming second is Julie De Visser with 724 votes or 19.61 percent.
Caz Osborne is a little more than100 votes behind De Visser at 16.55 percent and Samantha Caves has 428 votes or 11.59 percent.
Division 5 was a free for all this election after long-term councillor Rick Stanfield retired.
Stanfield lost by a ping pong ball in the 2008 election to Kathy Bensted when the vote was perfectly tied.
In 2012 Stanfield knocked Bensted off the post with a 44 percent vote in a field of four and in 2016 had a resounding win against Samantha Caves with more than 67 percent of the vote. In all, Stanfield represented the Boonah Division for 21 years.
