By Raquel Mustillo and Charlotte Varcoe
WATTLE Range Council will have its second by-election in less than two years following the resignation of Penola-based councillor Rick Paltridge.
The Electoral Commission will run a supplementary election on behalf of council, with council requiring a $15,000 budget variation to undertake the by-election.
The Riddoch Ward councillor notified chief executive officer Ben Gower of the resignation on August 3 – effective immediately – via email.
Mr Paltridge told The Border Watch he had lost the confidence of elected members and senior executive staff, adding “and I think I lost confidence in them”.
He said while he enjoyed his three-year tenure on council, Mr Paltridge said he “felt [he] was being hamstrung” once he was elected to the role.
“I have enjoyed the thrust and cut of the chamber and enjoyed discussing controversial issues such as the saleyards, the council chambers and discussions about redrafting boundaries,” Mr Paltridge.
“I wasn’t there to make friends and was there in the best interest of the Wattle Range Council ratepayers.
“I feel like a burr under council and have since the beginning.”
Cr Paltridge refused to comment on the financial cost to ratepayers following his resignation.
Mr Gower would not be drawn to comment on the circumstances of the resignation, simply saying the decision to resign from council was Cr Paltridge’s to make and “we wish him all the best”.
At last week’s council meeting, Cr Paltridge was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons from July 1 to September 30 after being absent from the June and July meeting.
Council will nominate a new elected representative for the Greenrise Lake Advisory Committee and vote on the budget variation to stage the by-election at tomorrow night’s monthly meeting.
The by-election is expected to be held later in the year and follows a supplementary election for Corcoran Ward in September 2019.
In May 2019, then deputy mayor Glenn Brown formally resigned from the position before further submitting his resignation as a Corcoran Ward Councillor a month later.
Former councillor Dennis Muhovics, who lost a bid for mayor against Des Noll at the November 2018 poll, won the by-election with 66.8pc of first preference votes.
The resignation of Cr Paltridge also marks the second resignation of a Penola councillor within three years, with Rob Thornett resigning in mid-2018 after being elected as the Riddoch Ward representative for two terms.
