BALLARAT councillor Joshua Morris will take a scheduled leave of absence from the council beginning on Tuesday.
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The south ward councillor told The Courier on Friday he had applied for leave from November 3 until the end of the month.
The former mayor revealed in late August, that he had been selected as a Liberal Party candidate for an upper house seat in Western Victoria.
The open position is second on the ballot and he is seen as almost a certainty to be elected into Parliament at November’s election.
Cr Morris said he would immediately stand down as a councillor if he was elected.
“If I was fortunate enough to be elected, I would be resign as soon as it became apparent I would be sworn in as a state parliamentarian,” Cr Morris said.
City of Ballarat chief information officer Annie De Jong said Cr Morris’s leave was approved at the beginning of October.
If Cr Morris left the council, it would not trigger a by-election, but would result in another councillor for the South Ward being appointed based on a countback of votes in the council elections in 2012.
Cr Morris said it was his understanding that the process for electing another councillor in his place would take eight to 10 weeks, as it did when former councillor John Burt stood down earlier this year.
This would mean the south ward represented by Cr Morris, Cr Peter Innes and Cr Des Hudson would be without full representation for months.
According to the Victorian Electoral Commission website, the leading candidate based on first preferences would be Jim Rinaldi, who gathered 2930 votes ahead of Stephen Pelchen with 1726 votes.
Mr Rinaldi said if the opportunity to join the council arose, he would accept it.
Mr Rinaldi, who has no political affiliation, has vowed to be a voice for the community.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au