CONTROVERSIAL Warrnambool City councillor Mike Neoh has thrown his hat in the ring for the next council election.
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Cr Neoh announced he is running in October and said his focus would be on construction, hospitality and tourism.
"I will be re-running in October and think we will need to invest in hospitality and tourism because of the impacts of COVID-19," he said.
"I'm also calling on a turbo-charge of the construction sector, assisting developers and the industry to maximise major projects and promote employment.
"My third focus will be the Princes Highway and to push for state government investment."
Cr Neoh has been involved in a number of council controversies, including the recent sacking of the chief executive officer which prompted calls for he and three other councillors to resign.
However, Cr Neoh told The Standard that if re-elected, his focus would be on the long-term future of the council rather than 'council politics'.
"There's always politics in councils, when you look at Melbourne for example, there would be 200 per cent more politics in those metro areas," he said.
"To me I don't care about politics, I care about services and projects. I guess if we go back four years the projects we had in mind got funded - the CBD, Reid Oval and the library - for example.
"To me the politics is white noise, the bottom line is the community wants services and projects. People are fed up with politics, they don't care, they want to know that when they pay rates they get things like good childcare, kinders, parks and gardens.
"I back myself in, I always focus on four years ahead, not single issues, not here and now."
Cr Neoh challenged all future candidates to think 'four years ahead, not three months' if they put their hands up for the jobs.
"Greater efforts will need to be made to boost Warrnambool's profile as a primary destination rather than simply promoting the greater Great Ocean Road region," he added.
"We have to use our funding leverage in the Great Ocean Road Tourism board to demand on ground projects, not just strategies. Our hospitality, tourism and accommodation providers are dependent to on a return on investment."
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