Will upcoming council elections ring true for all residents?

Five candidates have declared their intentions in just the last week alone. And possibly as the deadline nears, we will see a few more sign on the dotted line.

Already there's a few familiar faces.

Daniel Gillet has been Regional Partnerships Officer with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter for a number of years.

There's the Public Service Association's Stephen Mears, Laura Hughes, Thomas Robinson, and former top cop Jeff Budd, who says council is far from doing all it can to address rising crime rates.

Current councillor Mark Rodda is going around again, and Matthew Sharpham, who ran as an independent in the 2022 Federal Election, is putting his hand up for a tilt at local government.

While Timothy Simpson, who had registered, has decided not to go the distance after all.

The Leader has also been told that former councillors Ray Tait and Charles Impey will go again, along with co-owner of Sonny's Bakery and Cafe Anthony Daniel, and Greens Party candidates Ryan Brooke and Gemma-Lea Tormie, who are all yet to officially add their names to the list.

So in essence, the September 14 poll, is shaping up to be a hotly contested race, with a broad range of candidates from all walks of Tamworth life.

My observation would be though that the list of candidates is pretty city-centric; lacking representation from across our smaller town and villages, which has long been a bug-bear of people living outside Tamworth itself.

And of course the other unknown is how voters will react, after what could be considered a pretty turbulent few months for the current council, and councillors.

The Special Rate Variation decision did not go down well in some quarters; so will that result in a backlash on polling day for councillors involved in giving it the green light.

Guess we will have to wait and see on all fronts.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Fiona Ferguson, editor