Councillor’s shock announcement, will not contest 2024 election

A long-serving Toowoomba councillor has revealed they will not contest the 2024 local government election. Read more here.

With less than four months to go until the 2024 local government election, Toowoomba Councillor Nancy Sommerfield has announced she will not be running after serving three terms.

Ms Sommerfield made the announcement in a video which was published to her professional Facebook page on Friday.

“Over the last little while, I’ve been giving consideration about the upcoming local government elections, and I have made the decision that I won’t be running,” she said.

“It has been a real privilege and an honour to represent all the communities across our wonderful region.”

Cr Nancy Sommerfield.

Thanking the community for their support over the years, Ms Sommerfield said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the region.

“I hope I have done well by you, and I thank you,” she said.

“Closer to the end of my tenure I will share with you some of the reasons why I have made this decision (to not contest the 2024 local government election).”

Growing up on a grazing property in Western Queensland, the long-serving Toowoomba Councillor moved to Toowoomba in 1994, when she worked in a marketing role within the health and education sectors.

Ms Sommerfield was successful in her council election campaigns in 2012 and 2020 and has led the water and waste portfolio for the past three terms.

Over the course of her time on the council, Ms Sommerfield advocated for a new regional waste management strategy and investment in water infrastructure.

Councillor Nancy Sommerfield at a special meeting of Toowoomba Regional Council. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The Toowoomba Councillor has also faced controversy during her tenure when she became the subject of an investigation in December 2022, after TRC CEO Brian Pidgeon complained about comments she had made about him during a confidential meeting in March 2022.

At the time, Ms Sommerfield said she believed the comments about the CEO were made “in good faith” but acknowledged the recommendations from the report and the decision of her colleagues to agree with them.

The comments Ms Sommerfield made were in relation to an alleged “pen throwing incident” between two general managers at an executive leadership meeting in 2021.

She was quoted in the report as saying during the meeting, “the CEO’s response being ‘you two need to get a coffee’ is appalling, in my view”.

Mr Pidgeon was not in attendance when the comments were made.

The alleged incident had been anonymously reported in a confidential staff survey.

Mr Pidgeon “strongly” rejected having any knowledge of the incident, and an email from the alleged victim to the council’s legal team last year denied a pen had been thrown at them by another general manager.

Toowoomba Regional Council.

It is not clear why Ms Sommerfield will not contest the 2024 local government election.

The Chronicle reached out to her for comment, but she did not respond at the time of publication.

The shock announcement comes after a turbulent year for the TRC with several leadership changes occurring since July.

This included the resignation of former Mayor Paul Antonio, who was then succeeded by former Deputy Geoff McDonald.

Councillor Rebecca Vonhoff was later appointed the new Deputy Mayor, while small business owner Edwina Farquhar filled the vacant council seat.

Cr Farquhar stepped into the role after a preferential vote took place at a special council meeting – a process which took five rounds of voting and almost three hours to complete.

The business owner was endorsed out of 23 candidates including popular candidate Joy Mingay.