What are the key areas your council should be focusing on?
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With voter information packs for the 2018 local government elections set to land in the next fortnight, it’s a good time to start thinking.
We’re polling our readers on what the five key issues are for them – but first, some context.
The City of Launceston Council
The council covers an area of more than 542 square kilometres, extending along the Tamar River through to Lilydale.
With 47,309 enrolled electors, the City of Launceston Council is the largest council area by population in the state’s North and North-East.
City of Launceston council had 46,363 enrolled electors in 2014. More than 52 per cent of those enrolled returned their vote, with 603 votes deemed ineligible.
There were 25 candidates who stood for alderman, four people stood to be mayor and five people contested the deputy mayor position.
Who is running?
Eleven of the 12 incumbent City of Launceston aldermen are running in the upcoming Local Government election next month, with the only exception being Darren Alexander.
Mr Alexander quit his position as City of Launceston alderman during its August meeting so he could run for a place on the City of Hobart council – and also threw his hat into the Hobart Lord Mayor contest.
There are 32 candidates altogether, the largest number of contenders for Northern Tasmanian councils.
Of the eight City of Launceston mayoral candidates, only two are now aldermen – incumbent mayor Albert van Zetten and past mayor Janie Finlay.
There are also eight deputy mayor candidates, with six aldermen vying for the role and two new contenders in Andrea Dawkins and frequent Examiner letters to the editor writer Leon Cooper.
There are a mix of business men including Testing and Tagging owner Bob Salt, Sporties owner Nick Daking and electrician Paul Spencer.
Former Greens Bass MHA Andrea Dawkins has also put her hand up for a spot at the table, along with Legislative councillor Rosemary Armitage’s husband Bruce Potter.
Some key stories
Survey
Now, what are the five most important issues for you? Let us know below.
- The Examiner and the Launceston Chamber of Commerce will host a free Launceston mayoral forum on October 3 at the Tramsheds, Inveresk from 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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Journalist at The Examiner Newspaper
Journalist at The Examiner Newspaper
