He has confirmed his plans to run for Meander Valley mayor in the upcoming local government elections. 

“It sort of wasn’t really in my sights until our current mayor Craig Perkins decided he wasn’t going to stand,” Mr Johnston said. 

“The phones just went hot for about four days with people ringing up saying I should consider running for mayor. I said ‘really’, so I gave it some consideration, talked to the family about it, and here we are.”

His tenure at the TFGA will end in the middle of next year and said he would have more “free time”.  

“I probably would have liked to have sat in and understood the issues that are around the council at the moment a bit more, but I think I have a fair grasp of them,” he said. 

He has lived in the region all his life, and is a fifth and fourth generation farmer depending on which side of the family tree you look at. 

“We pay a considerable amount of rates on the properties that we own, and I’ve always been community minded and spirited.” 

Mr Johnston was also chairman of the Meander Enterprise Centre and fought, along with many others, for the Meander Dam to be built.

While he admits there are a lot of issues he’s not completely over, he believes it’s a good thing. 

“It means I can come into it looking at issues without having a pre-conceived conceptions,” Mr Johnston said. 

“I do pride myself of sitting around a table and letting all people have a say regardless of whether I agree with them or not, but everyone’s voice should be heard.”

He said all councils needed strong mayors to represent their municipalities. 

“They need people that have had life experiences and they need people that can show leadership, without blowing my horn, I think I can do that.”  

Mr Johnston joins the race along side Susie Bower and Andrew Connor who are both running for mayor.