Mayoral hopeful Jos Mitchell says she will continue to engage with the community on the city's biggest issues as part of her commitment to run a grassroots campaign in the lead up to next year's council election.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victoria Point resident and former police prosecutor announced her candidacy in January, vowing to lead an administration with a focus on "transparency, professionalism and accountability".
Ms Mitchell has self-funded her campaign so far but will also invite community donations down the line from those who share her vision for the future of Redlands.
"I think that is a much more genuine approach, because people are putting in what they can afford and we are all buying into the change," she said.
"That way I know that community is interested in seeing this change and what I'm proposing."
Ms Mitchell shut down social media speculation that she was aligned with Labor and the Greens, reiterating that she had never belonged to a political party and was running as an independent.
"There have been posts on Facebook, and I am very well aware that there are other things going around social media making comments like that," she said.
"The truth of the matter is, I have never belonged to a political party.
"I am willing to talk to anyone who belongs to a political party who is respectful and interested in taking good policy and community best interest forward."
The Redlands mayoral race is shaping up as an intriguing contest, with long-serving mayor Karen Williams shooting for a fourth straight term and islander Gayle Nemeth also announcing her candidacy.
Ms Mitchell said she had been in the community listening to concerns and was putting together a list of key issues to guide her policy approach.
"Since announcing my candidacy, it has just been a collection phase and getting to know people and being able to do it without any political guff," she said.
"It has been pretty genuinely going out there and finding out what the issues are."
Ms Mitchell said residents had expressed concerns about feeling locked out of information about the city's major projects.
"Moving forward, I'd love to see much greater contact between community and council, and a much more free flow of information," she said.
"They are sick of seeing ratepayers dollars tied up in battling things when they just want to see things happening for the community.
"They want their roads fixed, they want parking and they want our basic core functions."
