Lindsay Tanner and his team for Wagga City Council aim to 'Build Tomorrow Together'

Lindsay Tanner has a long history in management, working in both private industry and government, and he’s hoping to bring that experience to Wagga City Council.

Mr Tanner is the lead candidate for the Building Tomorrow Together ticket for next month’s local government elections.

“We are a group of local residents who are very encouraged by the work that the council has been doing,” he said.

“We know there’s a couple of seats that are vacant so we’re really excited about the opportunity to join the current council.

“I think it’s about making sure that we support local business, looking after the infrastructure in our city, and improving and maintaining the social fabric that we offer to our community so Wagga becomes the best place it can be to live in.”

Also on the Building Tomorrow Together team are Ali Tanner, Clare Lawlor, Michael Nugent and Andrew Roberts, who Mr Tanner said would bring a broad spectrum of experience.

“I’ve been serving in government, both local and state government, for about 20 years and I’m very interested in the infrastructure that we have in the city and making sure that it’s looked after,” Mr Tanner said.

“Michael Nugent has been a small business owner since 1988 and understands the challenges around small business. Andrew Roberts also works in local business and brings a strong family perspective. Ali Tanner is very passionate about the social fabric of Wagga and Claire Lawlor is a previous Young Citizen of the Year and very interested in giving back to the community.”

As the second candidate on the ticket, Ms Tanner said celebrating and sharing what the region had to offer was something she would like to build on.

“We have the opportunity to attend different festivals and shows put on through the year and I think it’s a chance to bring people to the town to experience our community,” she said.

“It would be great if we could encourage visitors to stay in Wagga just that little bit longer, to see all the different things we offer like the shopping, the beach, the zoo, the parks, the gardens, museums and the National Art Glass Gallery, which many people are surprised to find in Wagga.”

Clare Lawlor is a passionate community volunteer and said it was important to bring a variety of views and backgrounds to local government.

“I think that having different perspectives in a group around a table really makes a difference,” she said.

“So I want to provide a youthful perspective based on my experience with a lot of different local organisations within Wagga and nationally as well.”

With Wagga in the grip of an economic squeeze, veteran jeweller Michael Nugent said he would like to encourage more locals to support small businesses.

“I’d like to see people in Wagga shop in Wagga because it not only helps the small business, but if the small businesses are doing well, then the community does well,” he said.

“It’s really hard to start a small business and maintain it and we need the community to support us, otherwise we fail, and it happens a lot.”

Andrew Roberts said he was a longtime friend and neighbour of Lindsay and Ali and supported their commitment to their hometown.

“Council takes a fairly big leadership role in the way communities work and I can’t think of a better qualified candidate than Lindsay, in terms of what he does, how he does it and his understanding of the people here,” he said.

“Communities thrive the more people put into them, and you get out what you put in.”

The NSW local government elections will be held on Saturday 14 September.