Former Dubbo Council mayor Mathew Dickerson has quashed speculation he will have another tilt for the top job on council this September, for now anyway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Dickerson said, "at this stage" he was not planning on running for a spot on the next Dubbo Regional Council despite getting asked regularly to do so.
"At least twice a day I am asked if I intend to stand for council in 2020," he said.
"It is a sign of how unhappy residents are with the current council and how satisfied they were with the council before the amalgamation that so many people want to return to the past.
"To this point, my answer to each person who asks me has been no and that is my current position. There is a lot of water that can flow under the bridge in the next nine months, but at this stage, if an election were held tomorrow, my decision would be not to stand."
Dubbo Regional Council mayor Ben Shields said he would not comment on what "a bitter ex" has to say, preferring to focus on the future and not the past.
"My focus is to make sure the new amalgamated council is working as best it can with all the challenges we have," he said.
Deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence said everyone has a right to stand for any office they want.
"Mathew obviously would have a lot to contribute if he did run for council," he said. "I certainly would not express any negative view whatsoever about him standing for local government office.
"I don't see anything unusual about Mathew not ruling it out or not ruling it in to run, it is only January and the elections aren't until September."