Herman Beyersdorf is one of the longest serving councillors in Armidale’s history.
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He’s also one of the shortest serving mayors.
For almost 25 years, as a mayor, deputy mayor, and councillor, he served Armidale until he and the other Armidale and Guyra councillors were sacked and the councils were merged, just eight months into his tenure as mayor.
Dr Beyersdorf is the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee chair and a driving force behind the Armidale Waste Management Facility's development.
He was a member of the controversial and now-defunct Local Representation Advisory Committee, which was tasked with giving the administrator a local's perspective on council matters.
And he was also a member of the Pine Forest Advisory Committee, responsible for transforming the forest into a family friendly recreational area.
So having stated his intention to stand for the seventh term, what can we expect from Dr Beyersdorf this time around?
Well according to him, more or less the same as last time.
“Everyone changes subtly over the years but having said that … I would hope to bring, more or less, what I have in the past, adding a little bit of experience,” he said.
Dr Beyersdorf has dismissed the claim that Armidale needs a totally new Council.
He believes a balance of new and old councillors is required for a strong council.
“There are some self-interest groups calling for a clean sweep, I totally disagree with that,” he said.
“It would be a disaster for Armidale if we had 10 or rather 11 new councillors.
“I’ll be quite frank - in the last Council … the new councillors took almost two years to get full traction.”
He also said that much of the progress Council had made since the amalgamation was as a result of the previous Armidale Dumaresq Council’s actions.
“The administrator has been running with what the previous Council did,” he said.
“Having a spare $15 million in your back pocket doesn’t hurt either, and I'm just saying that to get the facts are on the table.”
Dr Beyersdorf also said while the previous Council could have been more efficient, residents needed to understand that some projects took time.
“Overall, I would say … the airport and the landfill … these are projects that take a lot of time,” he said.
“Those who want to build Rome in a day, think again.
“Certainly with the landfill, there was a delay, which I thought wasn't necessary - when a faction of Council wanted to look at it again and again and again.
“That's an occasion when perhaps there was a bit of infighting.
“That sort of thing I think is unfortunate.”
On amalgamations, Dr Beyersdorf was an advocate for the four-way merger of Armidale, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha councils.
And while he won't be pushing for it if he is successfully elected, should the issue come up again, he will fully support a big council merge.
“If we had the full-scale regional amalgamation of the four councils as we advocated for … then we would have had true economies of scale,” he said.
“As it is ... we’ve got a second best amalgamation, which hasn’t really increase Armidale by very much.
“The small addition of Guyra … it’s almost not worth it.”
Dr Beyersdorf is yet to confirm if he will stand as an independent or with a group.
But following the Liberal Party’s decision against backing a candidate in the Armidale election, speculation is mounting that Labor could follow suit.
“The last few times I have run a community ticket, not a formal party ticket, but I have also run on my own and have been successful there too,” he said.
“I just haven’t finalised the manner in which I run.”
If re-elected, Dr Beyersdorf will push to find a use for the Old Teachers’ College after UNE abandoned it earlier this year.
And he also plans to drive industrial development and a cultural change around attracting businesses to the region.
“We’ve been working hard on the airport industrial land,” he said.
“But we shouldn't be unrealistic - we don't want BHP or Coca Cola or Nissan, so let's be a bit realistic.
“Let's do the things we do well, things like the data centre.
“I think we have to be vigilant that there is a welcome attitude, so if you come in … we should be welcoming you and trying to assist.
“I think we can improve in that area.”
Local government election nominations open at the end of next month and close on August 9.
