David Sheldon of Tumut has joined the race for the seat of Eden-Monaro, announcing this week that he will stand as an independent.
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He will be up against the Nationals, Liberals, Labor and Greens for the traditionally bellwether seat.
Mr Sheldon resigned from his Liberal Party membership because “they have been losing sight of what they're there for”.
“The politics of today are not looking beyond the current election cycle,” he said.
Mr Sheldon said that, as an independent, he would not be driven by party politics, but he would remain at grassroots level, listening to constituents.
“I will be out and about, making myself available for people; that includes the young, I want to get them voting again,” he said.
“I think Eden-Monaro has been neglected for a long time.”
Sheldon has never run for a seat before and will be self-funding his campaign.
He was the chair of the Australian Regional Tourism Network until 2017, owns the Elm Cottage rural retreat in Tumut, and owns a share of the Monaro Post.
His campaign will concentrate on the duplication of the Barton Highway, black spots, the rail network and more infrastructure, jobs, mental health and health services in Eden-Monaro.
“The Eden-Monaro electorate is our national capital’s backyard and there is much future proofing required for the millennials, generation alpha and beyond, without mentioning our ageing population,” he said.
“The Eden-Monaro electorate should be the showpiece of the nation as it is the gateway to Canberra.”
The National Party announced in October that it would move to pre-select a candidate on this Saturday, November 17, to contest the seat of Eden-Monaro.
Sophie Wade from Jeir has been named by the Yass branch of the Nationals for the federal seat.
Long considered a bellwether seat, Eden-Monaro is thought to indicate the overall election outcome.
The federal electorate includes Queanbeyan, Yass, Braidwood, Bega, Cooma and Tumut.
Candidates will be up against Coalition counterpart Dr Fiona Kotvojs, Labor Party incumbent Dr Mike Kelly, and The Greens’ Patrick McGinlay.
Dr Kelly has confirmed he will stand for the seat again.
The Liberals named Dr Fiona Kotvojs last month.
A federal election has not yet been called, but must be held by May 18, 2019.
