Braddon Labor candidate Chris Lynch has spent half of his life helping others. But he couldn't help himself when he faced court on a drug charge 28 years ago.
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Confronted with his tainted past while on the election trail on Wednesday, Mr Lynch said that single conviction in 1994 had resulted in a "lifetime of regret".
Court documents show he was found guilty of one count of "having in his possession, for sale, a quantity of methylamphetamine valued at about $1200".
The Tasmanian Supreme Court heard Mr Lynch was a user who had paid $1000 for the drugs then on-sold them to a friend for $200 profit.
"A very long time ago I made a huge mistake and paid a huge price for it," Mr Lynch said after being contacted by The Advocate.
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The judge hearing the case all those years ago mentioned how the accused had shown remorse while steering clear of drugs in the six months after his arrest. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and lost his job.
Mr Lynch, now 59, is still remorseful and says, in some ways, he is still doing that service. He's a Burnie City councillor - having taken leave to stand against Liberal MP Gavin Pearce - and works as a case co-ordinator for an NDIS provider.
It's understood Mr Lynch's conviction doesn't make him ineligible to stand.
"I have never tried to hide my past," Mr Lynch said in a statement issued from the Labor party's election HQ.
"Instead I have learned from it, and worked to repay my debt to society.
"I have devoted the rest of my life to helping others - as a proud father and grandfather, a community worker, youth worker, teacher and Burnie councillor.
"I'm a stronger person now because of what I went through back then. And I put my hand up as the Labor candidate for Braddon because I want to keep helping people.
"I can't change my past but I can work to build a better future for our community."
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has previously backed his candidate.
"Proud to have Chris Lynch as Labor's candidate for Braddon," Mr Albanese said in a tweet in July 2021.
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