ORANGE City Council could have a butcher at the helm on Tuesday if councillor Scott Munro has his way.
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The mayoral election is expected to be hotly contested on Tuesday night with at least two candidates expected, including incumbent John Davis and Cr Munro.
While he was unsure how successful he would be against seasoned campaigner Cr Davis, Cr Munro said he had his sights on the 2016 council elections when the mayor’s position will be decided by the ratepayers.
“I want to let people know I’m keen to be able to represent them and build our town,” he said.
“I believe this council has achieved much and I have great respect for the current mayor, but I also believe that a succession plan is necessary.”
Cr Munro said addressing the Northern Distributor Road and creating employment and investment would be among his priorities for the next 12 months.
“It’s about jobs, jobs and jobs,” he said.
While the council is the only level of government in Orange not dominated by the Nationals, Cr Munro said it was not about the politics.
Cr Davis confirmed he would stand for a 13th term and hoped he would be supported.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said.
Councillor Kevin Duffy could not confirm whether he would nominate for the position, but said he was “seriously considering it”.
“I believe at the moment we are getting away from the core principles of roads, rates and rubbish because people are up in arms about roads and up in arms about rubbish,” he said.
“We seem to have a conflict with our local member [for Orange, Andrew Gee], which is not good.”
Councillor Jeff Whitton was expected to contest the election a second time after an unsuccessful tilt last September, but he believed he would not have the numbers.
“I’ll leave my mayoral aspirations to the people next year,” he said.
“The council needs to be stable and if every man and his dog runs, it looks like the council’s not cohesive.”
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au