THE two men running as solo candidates at next month’s Bathurst Regional Council election say they will leave it up to voters to decide who should fill the nine seats within the chamber.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nick Packham and Alex Christian will be the only ungrouped candidates out of the 40 names to appear on the Bathurst ballot paper on September 9 but neither is planning to enter into a preference deal with any rival.
This is Mr Packham’s second tilt at council after finishing 10th in the 2012 election while Mr Christian is entering his first campaign.
Mr Packham said he was not fazed by the prospect of running alone.
“I’m giving people a genuine choice,” he said.
“I’m encouraging people to vote below the line and choose at least five candidates they believe have the skills to provide responsible, forward-thinking leadership for Bathurst.
“I think it’s interesting that none of the sitting councillors or past past councillors have backed themselves to be re-elected on their own.”
Mr Packham has lived his whole life in Bathurst and after 30 years in the public service is now the CEO of Vivability, a non-profit organisation working with people with disabilities and their carers.
He said he was keen to see ratepayers’ money spent wisely and did not want to see council fighting any more losing cases in the Land and Environment Court.
“I’m also interested in strengthening links with the Bathurst Business Chamber and I believe we probably need another large employer in town,” he said.
“I want to promote Bathurst as a great place to establish business and to lobby state and federal governments to relocate offices to Bathurst.”
Mr Christian is a serving police officer who has called Bathurst home for five years.
He is promoting himself as the “safety and parks and gardens” candidate interested in the “nuts and bolts” issues within council’s work.
“If you look at my policies they might not seem as grand as other candidates but they are the issues that affect everybody,” he said.
“All my issues come from a personal perspective but being a police officer really makes safety and welfare a priority for me.”
Mr Christian said, if elected, he would push hard to have a council-operated CCTV system established in the Bathurst CBD.
“I can’t believe that in 2017 Bathurst still does not have an adequate CCTV system,” he said.
“I will also push hard to retain Centennial Park as green space because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”
Mr Christian and Mr Packham both nominated the poor state of Bathurst’s footpaths as another priority issue.
