Hobart councillor Mike Dutta has announced he will run for lord mayor at October’s local government election.
Dutta said he was standing as an independent prepared to make hard decisions based on evidence, “not personalities, politics or pressure”.
He pointed to his eight years on the Hobart City Council, saying he had seen the council at its best but had also watched disagreements descend into conflict and division.
“I will vigorously debate an idea, a policy or a decision with which I disagree, but I will not make the person the issue,” he said.
Dutta was first elected to the council in 2018 and ran for lord mayor at the same election.
He owned the now-shuttered Macquarie Street Foodstore cafe and taught legal studies, psychology and philosophy at Hobart College for 20 years.
Dutta said he would work towards “fair, equitable and responsible rates, recognising the pressures facing households, businesses and our community”.
He also pledged to back small and local businesses and to protect “Hobart’s natural environment, parks, waterways, urban landscapes and unique character”.
Dutta said he would oppose any cable car on Kunanyi/Mt Wellington that he believed threatened the landscape and would scrutinise the Macquarie Point stadium.
He also plans to advocate for the Battery Point walkway and work to deliver “better pedestrian connections” across the city.
Dutta said he would work with whoever voters elected under the Hare-Clark system, regardless of whether they supported or opposed him.
“I will not promise that everyone will always agree with me. I will promise something more important,” he said.
“I will listen. I will scrutinise. I will speak plainly. I will stand by my principles. I will respect those who disagree with me and I will put Hobart first.”
“The people of Hobart deserve a council that works for them – not against itself.”
Current lord mayor Anna Reynolds announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election after eight years in the role.
She steps down in August to take up a role with the Global Solar Council.
Sitting councillors Ryan Posselt, Bill Harvey, Louise Bloomfield and Marti Zucco have already confirmed they will run, with Harvey standing under the Tasmanian Greens banner.
John Kelly is still weighing up a tilt at the top job.
The election is also set to reshape the council, with the number of elected members dropping from 12 to nine.
Tasmanians go to the polls for local government elections in October.
