Cr Rush defeated incumbent Monica Morse by a single vote on Wednesday night to become Bathurst Regional Council’s fourth mayor in four years.

He has been a member of The Nationals for three years but yesterday said he doesn’t believe party politics has any place in local government. 

Cr Rush dismissed suggestions he is using the mayor’s role as a springboard into state politics, following rumours Paul Toole plans to run for the federal seat of Calare when John Cobb retires.

“That’s news to me,” Cr Rush said. 

“Anyone who aspires to that role must commit themselves to it, and I haven’t. I will be concentrating on my job as a councillor and as mayor of Bathurst. People will soon work out that I have a genuine desire to serve as mayor.

“I have more business skills and life skills now than I have ever had.

“I would be thrilled if I came to the end of my time as mayor and people thought I had made a contribution.”

Cr Rush outlined his plans for his new role, saying he hoped the people of the region would see him as someone capable of representing them, as a good fighter for the community and its concerns, and as someone who is approachable and interested in what goes on their lives.

He said he decided to contest the mayoralty because he loves the place he lives in and wants to see it become even better. 

Accordingly, he has a strong economic development focus and intends to work hard to secure state and federal government funding, while attracting industry to the city. He believes this will lead to greater jobs growth. 

Cr Rush said he’d also like to be seen as a protector and enhancer of what we have, which includes protecting our heritage.

“We are the first inland settlement in Australia and I would like to see us make the most of that,” Cr Rush said.

Gary Rush was born in Oberon and went to school there until he left to study at the University of NSW where he obtained his Bachelor of Building degree in Quantity Surveying. 

He said quantity surveyors are the cost planners of the building industry. 

However, he spent little time in that field. Instead he joined a couple of construction companies including Land Lease Interiors which mostly refurbished high rises. He worked as a project manager and business development manager. 

It was there he learned about business and strategic planning. It is because of this experience that he sees Bathurst Regional Council as a multi-million business. 

Cr Rush spent five years with Land Lease before being head-hunted to be general manager of design construction company Smith and Madden.

“That set me on a path of senior management roles in corporations for the next 20 years,” Cr Rush said. “I became a change specialist. I would go as CEO into companies that wanted to implement change.”

Cr Rush returned to the region once his kids had grown up. 

He came to Bathurst in 2010 to work with a family business, Spectrum Window Fashions, and ended up buying it.

“What strikes me, being relatively new to Bathurst, is the number of community groups. It’s a fabulous community,” he said.

“I can’t imagine a better one.”

Cr Rush is no stranger to politics. He was campaign manager for Paul Toole’s state government bid in 2011 and ran as the Liberal candidate in the federal seat of St George when he was just 32.

He was beaten on preferences and did not dabble in politics for another 20 years.