By NOEL MURPHY
HE’S 15 kg lighter, “just about dangerous” and thinking seriously about making a comeback at City Hall.
John Mitchell told the Independent he’d been approached to run for mayor again in the wake of Keith Fagg’s sudden departure due to health issues last week, and would decide in the next fortnight.
“The bottom line is I certainly miss the people but it can be a high pressure job, a frustrating job. Certain aspects of it I miss but other aspects I don’t miss.
“It’s 24/7, it doesn’t matter where you go, people want to talk to you, you never get chance to switch off.”
Mr Mitchell said if he ran successfully for the Geelong mayoralty again, he would not be trying to juggle two jobs again – as he did with his position as a locomotive driver/administrator.
“Absolutely not. I couldn’t do it because it would kill me,” he said. “I did it for four years and I nearly fell off the perch.”
A by-election for the new mayor‘s post will be held by postal vote on Saturday 23 November. Votes must be lodged with the Victorian Electoral Commission by Friday 22 November.
Nominations are expected to open on 17 October and close 22 October.
Under the City of Greater Geelong Act, serving councillors can nominate for the mayoral position without relinquishing their seat on council.
If a serving councillor were to nominate and was successful, a by-election would subsequently be needed in their ward.
Mr Mitchell said since retiring from council after Geelong’s first direct mayoral vote last year – he drew only 13.88 per cent of the primary vote – he’d been able to catch his breath and exercise more.
“I’m 60 but I’m better now than I’ve ever been,” he said.
“I’m just about dangerous, I’ve had a lot more time to exercise and I’ve dropped by about 15 kg.”
Mr Mitchell’s term as mayor was marked by several controversies including missing meetings with the premier and meetings in Canberra, snapping photos while driving in front of Geelong police station and parking in a disabled car park.
Another possible contender in the mayoral stakes is Stephanie Asher, who drew a similar 13.62 per cent of the primary count at last Otober’s mayoral vote but who tore away on preferences to post a much stronger 37.68 per cent behind Keith Fagg’s 62.3 per cent.
She might be campaigning as an independent for the federal seat of Corio but Ms Asher, wouldn’t rule out another crack at the mayoral post.
Ms Asher, who declared “I’ve got the balls” to head City Hall during her 2012 campaign, said her focus was 100 per cent on Corio at present but declared “never say never” about a future in some other form of politics.
“I really don’t know,” she said.
“I’m not going to commit at this point, I’ve got to focus on what I’m doing.”
Regardless of how Corio might unfold for her, Ms Asher said standing as a candidate twice inside a year was a valuable learning experience.
“I see it as a win-win,” she said. “I’m learning a lot more about the region and people, about running campaigns, about dealing with the media.”
Ms Asher said that as operator of her own business, she had the opportunity to be able to run for public office.
“It’s more than a keen interest in politics, it’s a keen interest in Geelong,” she said.
