THE City of Ballarat's newest councillor doesn't think party politics should get in the way of the role of the council.
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Glen Crompton was elected as the replacement for departing councillor John Burt after a countback was held at the Ballarat Town Hall on Monday.
The appointment of the Ballarat-born and raised councillor could lead to a break of the perceived Liberal voting bloc that emerged last year.
However Mr Crompton, who said he had no political affiliations, does not believe bloc voting was as big an issue as had previously been raised.
"I see me as being no part of a bloc," he said.
"I was quite open and adamant during the campaign that I have no political affiliations or aspirations. That will not change during my term in council.
"As nine people in a chamber we should be able to make it work without party politics getting in the way."
"As nine people in a chamber we should be able to make it work without party politics getting in the way"
The countback took a matter of seconds with Mr Crompton emerging as a clear winner from former mayor Mark Harris.
Shortly after the result was announced Mr Crompton told The Courier he was surprised at the result, however was still happy to accept the challenge.
"I guess it was lucky we had a month in between the announcement and I had that time to consider and rekindle the passion that made me run in the first place and in my mind I was able to do that," he said.
"I am there to facilitate what the community and the central ward ratepayers want as best you ever can."
The father of two has already weighed in on some of the bigger issues, saying ratepayers want to see some action on both the Civic Hall and the saleyards.
"This stuff just seems to have gone on forever and we have seemed to throw a lot of resources at them, perhaps we should have had a solution by now and perhaps we should have learned from what has not been done right that has allowed this to drag on for so long," he said.
"I am not sure what the solution is but I look forward to finding it."
It is still unclear as to how long it will before Ballarat's newest councillor officially starts in the role, however it is expected to be within a matter of weeks.
Mayor Josh Morris said he looked forward to working with the new councillor.
"We will have a discussion today about what sort of a time-frame will work for Glen," he said.
"We envisage Glen will be able to take his oath of office at some stage next week."