Darryn Lyons takes lead in Geelong mayoral race Darryn Lyons is the front runner to be Geelong Mayor. Signage on Darryn Lyons property for his mayoral campaign. DARRYN Lyons has broken to a commanding position in the race to be Geelong's next mayor. The former paparazzi king and local nightclub owner has 29.9 per cent of the primary vote based on numbers released at noon by the Victorian Electoral Commission. The VEC says it has counted 39 per cent, or 50,934 of the votes in the by-election, with a final result expected late tonight. With 16 candidates vying for the role, preferences are expected to play an important role, but Mr Lyons' strong start puts him firmly in the box seat. Behind him on the leaderboard are: Stephanie Asher 14.8% Ken Jarvis 12.3% John Mitchell 6.8% Anthony Aitken 5.5% Lily Stefanovic 5.2% Rodger Marsden 4% John Irvine 3.6% Doug Mann 3.5% Angelo Kakouros 3.2% Stephen Yewdall 2.9% Greg Lacey 2.6% Margrette Lewis 1.8% Tom O'Connor 1.7% John Smith 1.1% Greg Jones 0.9% More results to follow.