Former Dubbo City councillor Ben Shields has declined to comment on whether he will run for the seat of Dubbo in the 2019 NSW State election.
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Mr Shields did not wish to respond after fellow former councillor Greg Mohr issued a media statement calling for Mr Shields to stand against Dubbo MP and Deputy Premier Troy Grant.
“Ben Shields has the runs on the board to win the seat. He has a proven record in winning council elections and consistently tops the poll, including beating the incumbent mayor of the day,” Mr Mohr said.
If Mr Shields was persuaded to run, Mr Mohr said even his critics couldn’t deny he always “followed the will of the community”.
“Ben has been a councillor and deputy mayor who always listens to the public. In fact after sitting next to him in the council chamber he has regularly whispered to me that he disagrees with a matter but will vote for it because the community are wanting their councillor representatives to move a certain way,” he said.
“More politicians should take the Ben Shields method of decision-making by taking their own personal objectives out of the picture and be guided by community consensus. It’s this method that has regularly seen Ben Shields elected with the most votes at council elections.”
Mr Mohr has lashed out at council mergers and the ban on greyhound racing. He said the decisions made under Mr Grant would cause a “huge bruising” in the next election.
“The greyhound racing ban has hurt a lot of people in the bush,” he said.
“And even though I’m not a fan of greyhound racing, I can say that the industry should have been given the right to due process. That includes strengthening anti-cruelty laws, as well as actually policing the industry- something that Troy refused to do even as police minister.”
Mr Grant said: "The greatest thing about our country is that it's a democracy and anyone is allowed to run for Parliament. However, on Election Day those who run will be judged on what they have been able to deliver for their community."
Former mayor Mathew Dickerson has also been urged by the public, including the Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club president, to run.
“If a state election was being held tomorrow I would definitely stand but 2019 is such a long way away,” he has said.