The Mayor of Glamorgan Spring Bay Council Michael Kent is facing unrest from his councillors over concerns about his leadership, as he contests the state election in the seat of Lyons.
Mr Kent, a prominent former businessman, will face a special council meeting on Tuesday where councillors will deliberate on a no-confidence motion against him.
Mr Kent is running as a Jacqui Lambie Network candidate for the state election in the seat of Lyons.
The special meeting was called after Councillor Jennifer Crawford put forward motions calling for Mr Kent to step down as Mayor for the duration of the state election, and another declaring a loss of confidence in his ability to run the council.
"If you have poor governance, and if you actually ... don't have good leadership, then I think things just start to fall apart," Ms Crawford said.
She said she put the motions forward after months of consideration.
"The Mayor has shown disregard for council's right to have a different view than his, and he hasn't represented council's view, particularly in the media," she said.
Ms Crawford said she believed most of the councillors had lost varying degrees of confidence in Mr Kent, but conceded she was not sure if they would all support her motions.
"It was with regret I put them [the motions] forward ... but it's just that things are actually regressing and getting worse.
"I think a lot of the councillors are not happy and certainly the discussion needs to be had."
Differing views generate 'frosty' relationships
Ms Crawford said Mr Kent was the only councillor still supporting going to the Local Government Review Board in regards to amalgamations.
She said the council respected differences of opinion, but some councillors had problems with him expressing his own personal views rather than representing the overall views of the council.
Ms Crawford submitted the motions to Mr Kent last Monday, but she has not spoken in person to him since.
When asked if she was worried things would be frosty at the special meeting, Ms Crawford said she hoped issues would be discussed.
"I think they've been actually quite frosty for quite a while actually. I'm hoping he might just give an explanation of why the situation has escalated to what it is," she said.
Sue Hickey — who has taken leave as the Lord Mayor of Hobart — and Anita Dow — who has formerly resigned as the Mayor of Burnie — are also standing in the elections, with the Liberal Party and the Labor Party respectively.
With local council elections scheduled for this year, a resignation by Mr Kent has the potential to cause some challenges.
According to the Local Government Act, if a mayor resigns within six months of an election, the Deputy Mayor — in this case Cheryl Arnol — would step into the roll until elections are held.
However, if the mayor steps down with more than six months to go, a by-election will be triggered, with the deputy mayor acting in the role until the election is held.
With local council elections set to be held in the region this year, a premature resignation by Mr Kent has the potential to trigger two elections in 12 months.
Mr Kent has declined to comment until the special council meeting on Tuesday is resolved.
