Clear vision

Unlike many of his rivals, Tom Tate had no lack of clarity around his agenda for the city

Here’s the thing about Tom Tate. Love him or loathe him “Fourth-term Tom” has a very clear agenda for this city and his legacy as a leader.

At every turn you know he is pushing for light rail to the border, the Greenheart project at Robina, scaling up the HOTA cultural precinct and even the good old cruise ship terminal is always bubbling away in the background.

Many people across the Coast clearly support these projects – as evidenced by the support for Mr Tate in the election.

And we know that there are also people who are not fans of these concepts.

For both sides of the divide, at least you knew what Mr Tate’s views were heading into the polls.

And that makes a massive difference.

A constant take from voters and political watchers throughout the lead-up to Saturday was that many of Mr Tate’s rivals failed to clearly outline their vision for the city.

Some talked about getting back to grassroots. Others talked about roads and rubbish.

And sure, they are all fine sentiments. But voters need more than that and the Gold Coast as a booming city certainly deserves more than that.

That lack of clarity around what other mayoral candidates were about quite possibly drove even some voters – who were not fans of Mr Tate’s agenda – to decide it was better the devil you know.

In any event, the Gold Coast as a city is here now with the mayor back in the hot seat and ready to forge ahead with his plan in what is a crucial time ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

There are many big projects that need to gather momentum fast before the Games arrive here in South East Queensland – foremost among those, trams to the border.

Mr Tate spoke in the lead-up to the poll about his plan to push ahead with council and the state on light rail Stage 4 to the airport rather than wait for federal funding.

From looking at results across council divisions, the mayor will have some of his key allies back at city hall to keep light rail on track and the city moving forward.

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