Kingborough Mayor Paula Wreidt has announced she’ll step down from the role on May 27, citing toxic social media abuse and the toll of three decades in public life.
She said the decision would end five years as mayor and 11 years as a councillor.
“I don’t want to be in such a toxic environment anymore and therefore the timing feels right to leave,” she said.
Wriedt said she’d been in public life for 30 years and faced nine election campaigns, with the prospect of a tenth weighing heavily on her.
She said campaigning had changed dramatically since she first entered politics in 1996.
“Over the last six to eight months, I have increasingly seen nasty comments on social media directed at Councillors from some in the community, as well as some for their own political purposes,” she said.
Wreidt was the public face of the Local Government Association of Tasmania’s Lift the Tone campaign, which encouraged respectful debate even during strong disagreements.
She noted that with less than six months until the next election, her resignation wouldn’t trigger a by-election, sparing the council the extra cost.
“It’s been an absolute honour to have been Mayor of Kingborough, and I am proud that I’ve been the area’s first female Mayor in our 114 year history,” she said.
Wriedt said she’d also resign from her roles with LGAT, the Australian Local Government Association board and Cystic Fibrosis Tasmania.
But she stressed the move wasn’t a retirement.
She announced she’d start as chief executive of the Tasmanian Council of Social Services on June 3.
“Having worked in the community sector for the past 16 years, I’m thrilled at the opportunity to advocate on behalf of the broader sector for solutions to their numerous challenges during these turbulent times,” she said.
Paula used her announcement to encourage fellow mayors to take pride in what they’d achieved over the past three and a half years.
“We often get so caught up in the day to day smaller issues that we don’t take the chance to step back and look more broadly at how we have all worked to change things positively to benefit our communities,” she said.
