Ludwig green lights another election campaign for mayor
The veteran LSC mayor pens an open letter declaring his intention to run again for mayor.
Rockhampton
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IN the words of William Shakespeare, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more", veteran Livingstone Shire Mayor Bill Ludwig's is rallying the community behind him in the quest to secure another term as mayor.
A resident of the Capricorn Coast for almost 40 years, Cr Ludwig has dedicated the majority of his time to community service.
He holds the community close to his heart, and it was to the community that he has penned an open letter explaining his plan to run again for mayor in next year's council election.
Over the years, he's developed distinguished career at the Capricorn Coast, working in roles including the President and Vice President of the Capricorn Coast Tourist Organisation (1993-97), Chairman and Event Coordinator of Great Australia Day Beach Party (1994-present), Livingstone Shire Councillor (1997-2000), Councillor Rockhampton Regional Council (2008-2013) and Mayor of Livingstone Shire Council (2000-08, 2014 - present).
The amalgamation of Livingstone Shire and Rockhampton Regional councils in 2008 saw him lose the top job.
In 2013, the citizens of the former Livingstone shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate, with the Shire of Livingstone re-established on 2014.
In November 2013, a tightly contested mayoral race saw Cr Ludwig defeat Kay Becker by 1,500 votes.
He secured 68 per cent of the vote to defeat Heath Henwood in the 2016 mayoral election,
Since his last election win, the mayor dubbed 'King Billy' has had a great run, delivering on key election promises while also securing Federal Government commitments to upgrade the Stanage Bay Road ($21.6 million) and Keppel Bay Convention and Sporting Hub ($20 million).
Cr Ludwig continues to pressure Capricornia MP Michelle Landry to contribute to the Queensland Government's Great Keppel Island revitalisation project, which promises to re-establish the region as a tourism destination and create an estimated 1,500 local jobs.
Speaking in 2016, Cr Ludwig said he would continue running for mayor until he felt there was a suitable candidate to take over his position.
Read his full open letter to the community below:
When I stood for Mayor for the very first time I made a number of important commitments to our community. Foremost was my pledge to represent the community with passion, vision and strong leadership needed to take us forward into the 21st Century.
The second critical commitment was to fight hard to secure the millions of dollars in State and Federal funding needed in build the infrastructure and community facilities our community would need to grow and prosper.
Over that period the collective amount of State and Federal funding that Council has either directly or indirectly secured is well in excess of $250 million to fund projects like our 'world-class' foreshores revitalisations, multipurpose sports facilities, Yeppoon and Emu Park town centre revitalisations, Gateway Business and Industry Park, and the soon to open Stage 1 of our new Home-Makers Centre.
Importantly, securing this level of funding has also enabled our community to build critical infrastructure like the pipeline to the Fitzroy River to drought proof the Capricorn Coast residential areas, new 'state of the art' sewerage treatment plants and water reuse networks as well as the strategic upgrades to our shire-wide road, transport and cycleways networks.
With much of infrastructure in place to manage future growth, along with the amenities that have enhanced our overall liveability, we are now well-positioned and already beginning to attract the private sector investment needed to drive the economic growth and new job opportunities.
However the next four years will be critical time for our community and we need to ensure there is a Mayor and Council in place with the experience and proven track record needed to secure essential State and Federal funding to keep the forward momentum.
For those reasons, I am advising the community that it is my intention to once again run for the position of Mayor. In doing so I believe I can also provide the community with the certainty needed at this point in time as well as the passion and genuine community commitment to get the job done.
It will also be critical to keep the high level of disaster management experience and the skills
sets needed to keep our economic recovery efforts on-track following the setback of the recent major fire event.
As some may be aware, I had given consideration to running as a Councillor in the coming term to play a support role on the next Council however in the current circumstance most people I have consulted with, including my Deputy Mayor, have told me they believe the community would be better served if I were to continue in the role as Mayor. Ultimately, this will be up to the community to decide on election day.
While there will certainly be challenges ahead, from an overall economic perspective I believe we are in a solid position. My commitment, if elected, will be to ensure we build on that solid foundation to deliver the bright future, job opportunities and economic growth our community needs.
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