Councillor Alan Harris announces intentions to run for City of Launceston mayor

First elected to the council in 2018, Cr Harris previously ran for mayor in the 2018 and 2022 local government elections.

READ MORE: 'A tail of Tas kitties': Hunt for feline purr-fection in upcoming national cat show

He finished fourth in the most recent mayoral contest, but the candidate said he was confident of his chances as the margin between fourth and second in 2022 was fewer than 1000 votes.

"People out there have contacted me and said they would like to see someone with my experience to help guide the city," Cr Harris said.

"They feel that my experience in business is something that is needed."

This experience in business includes 35 years at Telecom Australia, a stint working in the Bass federal electorate office and, more recently, in aged care.

READ MORE: Shekinah House barely keeping up with demand as call for help answered

Cr Harris said he was - and would remain - politically independent and would seek to govern collaboratively and pragmatically if elected as mayor.

"I tend to look at each issue, figure out what is the best outcome for the organisation and then follow that," he said.

"I am collaborative in my approach, quite collegial and get a wide variety of opinions, but I also have the skill of being able to break something complex down to something simple."

If elected, Cr Harris will remain in the position until at least 2026, when the current term expires.

READ MORE: As cheap as they'll get? Launceston house prices rising after yearlong decline

Although this would only give him about three years in the role, he said his focus was on issues far beyond the term limit.

"We need to think what our city is going to look like in the next five to 10 years ... there are a lot of wonderful challenges, but also plenty of wonderful opportunities," Cr Harris said.

"We certainly need to repopulate our CBD to reinvigorate it.

"The choices are, do we just continue an endless sprawl of suburbia, or do we embrace medium density, living in the centre of the city and perhaps other parts of the city as well."

READ MORE: Move to cut stadium funding from state budget fails

Other priority issues for Cr Harris include the ongoing housing crisis, the renewal of the Tamar River estuary and future usage of the UTAS site at Newnham after the university moves to Inveresk.

The mayoral by-election will be conducted as a postal ballot between June 14 and July 11. Nominations are open until Tuesday, June 6.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: