Toowoomba council: Low nominee numbers just three weeks from start of 2024 local government elections, no mayoral candidates

Toowoomba still technically has no mayoral candidate and less than a dozen contenders for council just weeks from the start of nominations. Instead, former candidates are lining up to slam the organisation as “self-serving”.

The Toowoomba region is suffering from a “concerning” lack of prospective councillors, with a variety of former candidates taking aim at the council to explain why they won’t be running.

As of Sunday, ratepayers technically still have no mayoral candidates to choose from and far fewer prospective council candidates than it did four years ago.

With 22 days until nominations officially open for the 2024 local government elections, just 10 people have confirmed they will stand for council, including current councillors and new candidates.

This is down from 17 people who had indicated a tilt to News Corp in January 2020.

Perhaps of more concern, there are no contenders for mayor, with Geoff McDonald potentially running unopposed unless nominees make their positions clear.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald.

While Mr McDonald has indicated he was likely to run for the top job, he continued to play down any candidacy talk.

“What I don’t want is for my candidacy to get in the way of my responsibilities as mayor for the current term,” he said on Sunday.

“That doesn’t mean to say I won’t be running (but) my focus is on the job at hand.”

Four councillors — deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff, Melissa Taylor, Carol Taylor and Edwina Farquhar — have yet to make their positions known after being contacted.

Ms Vonhoff and Melissa Taylor had both already announced their candidacies at this point four years ago.

Current councillors, new candidates and former nominees have all noted a significant lack of enthusiasm for spots on a body that controls 6600km of roads, as well as the water, sewerage systems and community facilities for more than 220,000 people.

Land developer Rob Weymouth of the UDIA. Picture: Nev Madsen.

It’s a situation Toowoomba president of the UDIA Queensland Rob Weymouth says is a “worry”, arguing the need for more candidates with “business experience”.

“If we’re struggling to get people to fill the positions, that’s a concern,” he said.

“We need people with real business experience to be involved — we’re actually trying to help the community, so it’s a worry.”

Five former candidates, both for the 2020 election and the 2023 special appointment process after Paul Antonio’s retirement, say they won’t recontest.

Many have given scathing assessments of council as part of their reasonings, including business owner Ben Apsey and Indigenous leader Lizzie Adams.

2020 election candidate Ben Apsey has revealed why he won’t run again. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“Why would I want to be part of the council that’s more interested in infighting?” he said.

“We’ve got a bunch of politicians more concerned with getting re-elected than actually doing anything for this city.”

Ms Adams said the current council had failed to address the needs of the region’s First Nations community.

Lizzie Adams. Picture: Nev Madsen.

“I don’t think there’s been true investment in the First Nations members of this community by this council,” she said. “It would be a waste of my time (to run again).”

Another former candidate called the TRC “dysfunctional”.

Mr McDonald said he wasn’t surprised to see less candidates at this point, noting changes to the nomination process (which includes completing a course) gave potential contenders more to think about.

“This job consumes your life, a strong passion for community is just one thing (you need) — it’s $6.4bn, it’s a large organisation that needs complete dedication,” he said.

“I don’t want to sugar-coat that, but if you’re dedicated to your region and want to see the place improve, then there are plenty of people who should consider being an elected representative.”

Another six people have said they are considering a tilt but had not made up their mind. Bill Cahill, Megan O’Hara Sullivan, James O’Shea and Kerry Shine have indicated they will run.

OUR SAY: Now is not a time for reticence

If current councillors are correct, that the upcoming term of the Toowoomba Regional Council could be the most challenging since amalgamation, then it makes the dearth in candidates for the upcoming election all the more concerning.

The council is facing mounting inflationary costs, continued poor financial support from the upper levels of government, a serious shortage in skilled labour, problems with housing and a looming obstacle in the $270m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades — a project worth more than what council would spend on capital works in an entire year.

All of this threatens to derail several major projects that have been advanced or started in recent years, like the Charlton sports precinct, the Railway Parklands, escarpment mountain biking precinct and Quarry Gardens.

Even if you think some of these are pipe dreams at this point, they certainly won’t be priorities if the next council can’t secure extra funding for Cressbrook.

Then there’s the business that council is always known for — maintaining complex water, sewerage and road networks, running swimming pools, art galleries and libraries.

This is the essential infrastructure 220,000 people rely on — and yet it feels like no one wants the job to help guide their growth.

How else can you explain the fact that, despite calls to dozens of people, News Corp can only find 10 candidates willing to say that they’re putting their hands up at the March elections.

This includes current councillors, with many unable to make their positions clear.

Then there’s the race for mayor — but is it a race if there are no contenders?

If what is assumed is correct and Geoff McDonald runs, he has no one to run against at this point — not even protest candidates.

On one hand, I completely understand the reticence displayed by some people to running for council.

Ignore the often-moronic comments on social media — being a councillor is a tough gig that requires understanding complicated bureaucratic systems, being open to talk with residents at all hours and working far longer than any standard 9-5 job.

It is a role that demands dedication, intelligence, compassion, patience, pragmatism and an allergy to corruption.

But that job description does not mean we shouldn’t have the best people — community leaders, business owners, activists, influential figures — in our region putting their hands up for these 11 positions.

I’m sure more candidates will make themselves known in the coming weeks, but this region deserves far more enthusiasm and transparency of intentions for a role that is so important.

– Tom Gillespie

Originally published as Toowoomba council: Low nominee numbers just three weeks from start of 2024 local government elections, no mayoral candidates