Huon councillor wavers after win

A FEW days after the new Huon Valley Council was sworn in, one councillor is having second thoughts.

Mike Wilson, who was part of the council sacked by Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein in 2016, ran unsuccessfully for mayor but won a council seat.

But now, Cr Wilson is concerned his past association with the former council may prove a distraction for the new council.

“Yes, there is a lot I can contribute as a councillor,” Cr Wilson wrote on Facebook.

“But will it have a chance to be heard by the Huon Valley residents? Or will it be drowned out and twisted by those who simply refuse to move on from past grievances?

“This is the heart of the decision I am grappling with.”

Cr Wilson told the Mercury he has had tremendous support from some sections of the community to stay on due to the inexperience of the current council.

When asked why he didn’t consider all this before decid- ing to run for a seat, Cr Wilson replied: “I think that’s a fair enough comment and I take it on board.

“What I was trying to do was to get a number of the older councillors to stand and in the finish I was the only one that put my hand up,” he said.

“There was a lot of pressure put on those former councillors and their partners.”

Cr Wilson said he missed the council swearing in ceremony on Monday to care for his mother and would make a decision on his future at the weekend.

New Huon Valley mayor Bec Enders declined to comment on the matter.

If Cr Wilson does resign, Huon Valley would undergo a recount for the vacancy.

Tasmanian Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey said in the event of a vacancy, the council general manager needed to notify the electoral commission.

Then the commission would contact every unsuccessful candidate to inform them of the recount and see if they wished to contest.

Mr Hawkey said the cost of a recount would be minimal because votes had been data entered for councils such as Huon Valley.