Former Wagga councillor Michael Henderson has announced himself as a willing candidate for the empty seat on Wagga Council, which will be decided by a countback of the 2024 local government election results. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Former Wagga councillor Mick Henderson has confirmed he will be running for the empty seat on Wagga Wagga City Council.
The seat was vacated following former councillor Tim Koschel’s decision to step down in December 2025 and officially resigning on 30 January.
Due to Mr Koschel’s stepping down within 18 months of the 2024 NSW local government elections, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) does not require the council to hold a by-election to fill the vacant seat.
Instead, on 10 March, the AEC will review the 2024 election results and select the candidate with the next highest number of votes who is still willing to serve on council.
Most likely to take Mr Koschel’s spot is former councillor Mick Henderson, who was a candidate on the same ticket as Mr Koschel during the 2024 election.
Their ticket attracted 22.9 per cent of all formal votes by Wagga voters, 7 per cent higher than the next highest ticket, led by Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout.
The results of the election saw Tim Koschel and Allana Condron voted onto the council, with Mr Henderson just missing out.
Mr Henderson served on the council between 2021 and 2024 and is highly regarded by a large section of the Wagga community.
Mr Henderson said strong community support led him to declaring himself as a willing candidate for the 10 March countback.
“Even though it wasn’t successful initially, the biggest thing I’ve noticed since the election is the number of people supporting me and wanting me to put my hand up for the countback,” Mr Henderson said.
“I think it’s my duty now as a community member to give it back to the community, and I believe I can do that by serving on council again.
“If I do get back on, as the results suggest, it’s not going to be totally new to me. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but it will certainly be a lot easier than starting fresh.”
Despite not serving on the council for nearly 18 months, Mr Henderson said if he was re-elected, he would focus on what he believes should be council’s top priorities.
“We need to go back to roads, rates and rubbish,” he said.
“I’ll do my best to join in on general community discussions and debate on some important developments.
“But what’s most important is that council makes positive decisions for the community and gets back to the basics of rates, roads and rubbish.
“I’ll always try to make the right decision for the community and the LGA moving forward, but I do believe that’s what needs to be dealt with most.”
