Councillor Dick Adams, elected to the council in 2014 after losing his long-held federal seat of Lyons, announced he would be running for mayor in the Northern Midlands Council in a statement this morning after the September council meeting last night.

During that meeting, current mayor and long-serving councillor David Downie announced he did not intend to run for the position again.

Councillor Adams had been considering nominating for the deputy mayor position, but Councillor Downie’s announcement caused him to reconsider.

“I think we were all dumbfounded by the announcement and I have had to rethink my strategy,” he said.

“This decision was not taken lightly – I know my family will be hoping I could spend more time with them, but this is my district, my history and my passion and therefore I feel I can offer the same sort of commitment to the job that my two predecessors had given.”

Councillor Adams was the Labor member for Lyons over 20 years from 1993 to 2013.

Prior to this, he was the member for Franklin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982.

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