In announcing his candidacy, Councillor Neville, who topped the poll in 2004, gave a blistering assessment of the current infighting in the chamber, declaring “Griffith deserves better”.

“John (Dal Broi) and Dino (Zappacosta) represent the politics of the past,” Cr Neville said.

“For the last two years, it appears they’ve been motivated by ego and self-interest and Griffith has not been well served. They haven’t moved on.

“They’ve gone head to head and made it about petty personality politics … it seems egos have outstripped ability.

“As a result, people have lost faith in their leaders and that’s a tragedy.”

Cr Neville said his brand of leadership would be about consulting with the community and bringing councillors together “for the good of Griffith”.

“The next four years are a critical time for Griffith and we can’t afford to not have a cohesive team,” he said.

“We all need to be on the same page and I will bring an experienced,

co-ordinated, well-balanced and thoughtful approach to council.”

He said a return to the three Rs – roads, rates and rubbish – would be a priority if he was elected.

“We can lobby to improve health services and the like, but we don’t have the power to bring additional services and professionals to town,” he said.

“But the power we have – and the big challenges we face – revolve around those three Rs.

“We also need to build reserves for future infrastructure needs; things like sewer, water and recycling.

“We have crippling infrastructure needs here that can’t all be met, so we need to prioritise these.

“We need to sit down with the community and ask: ‘What level of services do you want and what are you prepared to pay for’.”

Cr Neville said pressure from concerned community members was part of his motivation to run.

“The current council has created an us

versus them mentality and we can’t afford that. We need to work together with the community,” he said.

“Our job isn’t to play politics … it’s to work with the various committees and assist council in developing policy.”

Cr Neville joined council in 1999 and served as mayor between 2001 and 2004.

The September 13 election marks the first time the mayor of Griffith will be elected by the public, as opposed to by other councillors.

It is expected to be a tightly contested election for the top job, with current mayor Dino Zappacosta, former mayor John Dal Broi, Dom Testoni, Peter Fussell, Anne Napoli and Pat Pittavino all likely to run.