Challengers to take on Mayor Mike Brunker

The man who is tipped to be the next most likely contender to run for mayor says rumours he will ask Councillor Jennifer Whitney to stand down from her campaign are simply not true.

Anthony Maine whose background is in corporate marketing, moved from Sydney to the Whitsundays almost two years ago after selling his successful IT company to a major telco.

“Some people may be saying it out of vicious intent … others just get excited and run away with the story, but I haven’t even met Councillor Whitney yet and i honestly, have not yet even made up my mind whether or not I will run,” Mr Maine said.

Mr Maine’s story begins earlier this year after a series of discussions and meetings with Mike Brunker.

“I was seeing more and more that the Whitsunday region was sick, really sick. So I thought with my 35 years of experience in the world of corporate marketing, I would phone the mayor and go and see him, help him develop a plan because as far as I could see, nothing was fitting in,” he said.

“But they were just humouring me.”

Over the next few months, Mr Maine says the conversations around dinner tables at countless functions were constantly drifting towards concern with the current council.

“I knew they were looking for someone to stand … there were several meetings and names were thrown around but because of business responsibilities or the like, many felt they wouldn’t do it justice. Then there was another meeting and they came back to me and said they would like me to consider running for mayor.

“I didn’t put my hand up for the job. This is something I could never orchestrate myself. The community itself really needs a pat on the back for moving forward with a story and a redirection for the whole region,” said.

On the momentum of the story for the whole region, Mr Maine and his entourage held meetings in Bowen, Dingo Beach, Hydeaway Bay and Proserpine with Collinsville in their sights before Christmas.

“Now we met with a very wide field of key people and I am not going to say that they were marching as one against council wanting to pull the walls down, but there is a definite feel that they are not happy,” he said.

“The Whitsundays is not a homogenous unit. It is not just one thing … apart from the name. The social structure of Airlie Beach is completely different to that of Bowen so if we are going to put up a challenge for the mayoral position we have to be mindful of what the community wants and we are doing that by talking to people everywhere,” he said.

Mr Maine says after Christmas he would be announcing his decision.

“Do we really want this challenge and how are we going to pay for it? They are the fundamentals of it.

“I understand it would be a cheeky, gutsy move to spend 20 months in a place, get a feeling for it and think I might stand for mayor.

“But I am not that barefaced and it is the community who deserves the pat on the back for calling for this challenge.”

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After hearing rumours of a possible candidate asking her to stand down, Councillor Jennifer Whitney reaffirmed her commitment to the community.

“I always knew it wasn’t going to be a one horse race. I had heard that someone might ask me to stand down but my clear intention is that I will not. I have the skills and knowledge to undertake this role. I have been working within the realms of local government since the early 1980s, and I know that I can hit the deck running,” Cr Whitney said.

Moving to the region from Mackay with her husband Shane in 1983, Ms Whitney said her long term history within local community groups had established mutual trust.

“I have been involved with this council since I moved here. I was secretary to the CEO and the Mayor from 1984 for 13 years until I decided to run for council and was successful in 1997.

“I ran for mayor in 2000 but I was unsuccessful, and in 2012 I am hoping the community will see what is in front of them and know that I will do my very best to put the community’s interests first. At the end of the day I am hoping people will see how dysfunctional we have been since amalgamation,” she said.

The woman who prides herself on honesty and integrity said she didn’t believe there were splinter groups within the community – just people who wanted to be able to trust their local council.

“These groups form because people feel they have been let down. They feel council is not listening,” she told the Guardian, adding she would welcome the opportunity to meet with Anthony Maine.

“If the community can’t see the offer in front of them then there is nothing I can do.

“Everyone who knows me realises my passion is for
the whole region and over the next few months I will be meeting with as many people as I can,” she
said.