Former Kingborough deputy mayor Jo Westwood has announced she will run for mayor in the October council elections, four years after stepping away from local government.
Westwood served as deputy mayor from 2018 to 2022 but did not seek re-election at the time, saying the demands of the role alongside another job and raising young children were too much to juggle.
She said outgoing mayor Paula Wriedt’s decision not to seek re-election partly prompted her own decision to run for the top job after initially considering a return to council to contribute again.
“When Paula told me she wasn’t running, that’s when I thought, ‘Well, you know, I’ve got the skills and the experience’,” she told Pulse.
“That’s something that I can offer the community if they give me that privilege in October.”
Westwood, a Leslie Vale resident and mother of four, has worked at the state government’s Department of Treasury and Finance for more than 20 years, mainly in economic and financial policy.
She said she’d also worked with both Labor and Liberal members of parliament and hoped to use those relationships to Kingborough’s advantage through advocacy to the state and federal governments.
Despite not being involved in the council for four years, Westwood said she had kept a close eye on things and found it hard to not watch council meetings regularly.
Westwood said she was aware of the online negativity that had been a factor in the outgoing mayor’s decision to step back.
“It’s already started, to be honest, the online vitriol,” she said.
“But I have made a decision at the outset that I’m not gonna get involved in that.”
“I want to run a positive campaign.”
She said she planned to spend the coming months visiting community groups across the municipality and wanted the campaign to focus on policy rather than personal attacks.
“I’ve got over two decades of policy experience at a state government level and I’ve got some really great things that I want to do if I’m lucky enough to be mayor,” Westwood said.
She said she preferred local government over state politics because of its closeness to the community.
“You can actually really deliver great outcomes because you can help people improve the place they love,” she said.
Tasmania’s council elections will be held in October.
