Smith won't run for council



Monday 8 April 2013

Smith won't run for council

Former Division 10 councillor candidate, Pete Smith, will not run for a position on the new Douglas Shire Council.

Mr Smith ran for councillor in the 2012 local government elections as part of Bob Manning's 'Unity' team, and received almost 26 per cent of the vote, failing to overcome eventual winner Julia Leu who claimed 45 per cent.

When asked if he would consider throwing his hat into the ring in a bid to become a Douglas Shire councillor or Mayor, Mr Smith was adamant; "Definitely no."

"To be honest I won't be involved at all. A lot of people have been asking 'You'd be running for Mayor'. My comment to them is we had a perfectly good Mayor and now we haven't," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith added that he would like to see pro-amalgamation supporter Wes Connelly run for one of the positions on the new council, despite Mr Connelly telling The Newsport after last month's de-amalgamation poll he was not considering standing for the new council.

"I'd like to see that maybe he would because he's one of the heavyweights in the industry (and) he's a smart guy," Mr Smith said. "You need guys with business acumen."

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