Alan Veacock and Therese Crollick, Presidents Ballina ALP and Alstonville ALP
Ballina has finally made it to the COVID-delayed local government elections, with popular mayor David Wright and a number of councillors all vying for the top job, including longstanding campaigner for Richmond River rehabilitation Cr Keith Williams. Many residents are of the opinion that party politics have no place in local government, but realistically there has always been party politics in local government; it’s just harder to spot.
Many councillors are closely affiliated with political parties but hide behind the veil of being ‘independents. It’s not hard to spot them at state and federal elections handing out how-to-vote forms for their respective parties; even our ‘independent’ mayor David Wright was openly supporting aspiring Ballina Nationals candidate Ben Franklin at the last state election.
And so it’s not surprising to finally see that a great team of candidates led by Cr Keith Williams, who together with Col Riches, Leonie Price, and Therese Crollick have decided to be honest and up-front, drop the ‘independent’ tag and run for council under an official Australian Labor Party ticket. It is close to a first for Ballina, but not the North Coast. Tweed Heads, Lismore, and Byron Bay have had politically endorsed mayors and councillors for years. The most important thing is that they diligently serve their communities.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
