Mr Smith told Gannawarra councillors at the September 16 meeting he’ll stand down as Mayor on September 30.
He will remain a councillor in the lead up to the election, telling The Riv he’d been asked to stay on by colleagues to avoid the shire being left with just five elected representatives.
“I have requested my council allowance be suspended,” Mr Smith said.
“I’m not anticipating doing much in the way of campaigning between now and the end of the month all the same.
“We have some very significant council issues to deal with... and dealing with them will keep me occupied as mayor.”
Mr Smith said he “hadn’t really” been campaigning for One Nation while mayor, denying introducing himself as the One Nation candidate to Gannawarra constituents unless asked.
“(Once I’ve stood down as mayor) the shackles will be off,” he said.
“But until then, I will not do any campaigning in Gannawarra as the One Nation candidate other than my campaign launch.”
Mr Smith has been mayor of Gannawarra since November 2024. He has had significant political experience as an electorate officer for Nationals Senator Julian McGauran and was a Ministerial advisor to the Nationals Bill Baxter in the Roads and Ports portfolio.
In addition, he was the Young Nationals state president for two years, the National Party Victoria junior vice president for a year, undertook a delegation to Shanghai, China as part of the young leaders conference and completed a political exchange tour of Japan.
The Victorian state election will be held on November 28.
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