It would seem, to outside observers at least, that Councillor Jess Jennings has that effect on many of his colleagues.

And his determination that council does something – anything – to keep pushing to have a special $2 coin minted to mark Bathurst’s bicentenary next year is exactly the sort of topic likely to put those colleagues offside.

But the rest of the community might not judge Cr Jennings so harshly.

There’s no doubt he enjoys needling mayor Gary Rush and he does not miss any chance to make Calare MP John Cobb and Bathurst MP Paul Toole squirm a little, either.

So while Cr Jennings might insist he is concerned about nothing here other than the chance to promote the Bathurst region, the fact Cr Rush and Mr Cobb come from the other side of the political fence surely is influencing the campaign.

But Cr Jennings is right that Bathurst has a unique opportunity to promote the region nationally if a special bicentenary $2 can be minted and maybe council has given up the fight too quickly.

Maybe lobbying the federal member and even calling on the prime minister to personally intervene might speed up what council has been assured is a long, drawn-out process.

Maybe shortcuts can be found to ensure a bicentennial coin could be minted before the end of 2015, even if the May 7 deadline was not possible. Maybe it could all happen – we’ll never know if we don’t try every avenue.

Party politics aside, that’s the essence of Cr Jennings’ current campaign – and you can be sure plenty of people in Bathurst would be supporting him this morning.