Gunnedah local government elections to see four councillors re-run, five uncertain or not running

The NVI spoke to Gunnedah's current nine councillors, with four confirmed to be running again and five either not running or not decided as yet.

Jamie Chaffey, Colleen Fuller, Murray O'Keefe, and Rob Hooke will all be campaigning for votes, and each have many ideas for the next four years of local government.

Cr Chaffey will focus on the sealing of roads like Clifton Road, seeing the return of commercial flights to Gunnedah, and seeking funding for the saleyard upgrade masterplan and the cultural precinct masterplan.

He will also be running for mayor again this year.

"It's been an honour for the first four years of serving our community and quite a rare honour to hold the position of mayor from 2016-2020 and, if I'm fortunate enough to be re-elected in 2020, I will continue on with great focus and determination to deliver on the aspirations of our entire community," Cr Chaffey said.

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Cr Hooke said he was hoping to be re-elected because he had some "unfinished business".

Some of the projects he wanted to "see carried into the future and get done" included the redevelopment of the Gunnedah Airport, seeing an abattoir start back up in town, the development of a program around affordable housing, and much more.

"The list is large [and] ... some are more my personal pets, but they are some of the things that have started and would be nice to see them continue on," he said.

Cr Fuller said while ever she was healthy she would be running.

She will be campaigning to see Rangari Road and other roads sealed, restrictors in the sub-divisions on Galway Avenue and Booloocooroo Road "moved out", and for more doctors to come to town.

The last of the current councillors to be re-running is Cr O'Keefe, who said he would be working to "keep Gunnedah punching above its weight".

"My opinion is, it's a place I've chosen to have as my home ... and I want to continue to ... keep and retain more residents and make it a desirable place to live," he said.

Cr O'Keefe said to do this, it would mean focusing on "industry, economic growth and a friendly town".

Two current councillors that will not be seeking a 2020-2024 seat are Owen Hasler and Gae Swain.

Cr Hasler was first elected to local government in 1981, and said he now had "other things to do" including travelling.

"My wife and I have had the opportunity to go on trips overseas but we had to be set to a timetable or limited in the timeframe, but we're hoping to do more caravaning around Australia at a slower pace as opposed to most of our previous trips," Cr Hasler said.

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He said his time in local government was a "very rewarding and interesting opportunity", and he encouraged locals to consider running for election.

"I hope there is a good group of candidates and hope they represent the diversity of our community. We're not a homogenous group and we do need commitment from our councillors to best represent the many groups and people in our community," he told the NVI.

"I can assure them that it's often time consuming, but it's also very rewarding."

Cr Swain will also be hanging up her hat and calling it a day after almost 30 years in local government.

She said it had been "rollercoaster" but it was "time for some other people to step up".

"I'm trusting there are some people who are thinking of putting their hands up for council for the right reasons," Cr Swain said.

"I want to spend more time with family and support my family a bit more."

John Campbell and David Moses were undecided on whether they were running again, and Ann Luke declined to comment at this stage.