FORMER CFMEU state secretary Scott McLean has cemented his spot in the race for the upper house seat of Windermere.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr McLean, who still holds an honorary state secretary position with the union, quit the Labor Party earlier this month in frustration with the direction the party was headed.
He had run as a Labor candidate in the seat of Bass at the 2010 state election, but did not win a seat.
Mr McLean will this time throw his hat in the ring as an independent, in a seat held by Ivan Dean MLC since 2003.
He will square off against Labor-endorsed candidate Jennifer Houston and Greens candidate Vanessa Bleyer in a bid to knock Mr Dean out of office.
Mr McLean said since being approached to contest the Legislative Council seat, he had grown increasingly annoyed with apparent inaction on addressing education and employment in the region.
"I just get frustrated that everybody seems to talk about it but nobody seems to do anything about it," he said.
"Politicians seem to be stuck in an inertia of attacking each other and scoring political points."
Sparks flew in the tussle for Windermere earlier this month when Ms Houston accused the sitting member of an alignment with the Liberal Party.
But Mr McLean promised not to "play the man" in his bid to get elected.
"It's not about the other candidates, they'll run their own races," he said.
"I have and will continue to deal with all sides of politics as required."
Nominations for the seat close on April 9, with voters heading to the polls on May 2.