ACT Policing’s Acting Inspector Mark Richardson will run in Ginninderra. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The police officer who called some Summernats patrons “sub-species of the human race” has been selected as the first endorsed candidate for Independents for Canberra in October’s ACT election.
Acting Inspector Mark Richardson made national headlines with his spray over the anti-social behaviour, including brawling and street burnouts, of some attendees he labelled “moron” tourists at this year’s Summernats car festival at Exhibition Park.
“We have a fair idea where these events are going to occur, but the behaviour of these drivers, they just haven’t evolved very far; I think they’ve really plateaued as a species, a sub-species of the human race,” he said at the time.
Mr Richardson also hoped the ACT Government would pass new laws to clamp down on such behaviour.
Now he may get a chance to have his say in the Legislative Assembly after being endorsed as a lead candidate in the electorate of Ginninderra.
A Belconnen resident who has lived in Canberra since 1998, Mr Richardson has been a serving Australian Federal Police officer since that time and is currently the Officer in Charge of ACT Road Policing.
Mr Richardson said he decided to put his hand up as an IFC community independent because he wanted to create a safer and more cohesive community.
“I am dedicated to a future where Canberra is a safe and prosperous community for people from all walks of life,” Mr Richardson said.
He said he would stand up for justice and victims’ rights because he had seen firsthand the consequences when that didn’t happen.
“My motivation is to create a safer and more cohesive community for all of us,” he said.
He also wanted to represent the many members of his community who didn’t have a voice.
“I want to be an advocate for those people,” Mr Richardson said.
He said people had become disillusioned with local politics, and he wanted to restore integrity and accountability in the political arena.
Mr Richardson came through early party vetting and a community town hall process where the public could grill potential candidates.
IFC co-founder Thomas Emerson said he was excited to introduce Independents for Canberra’s first formally endorsed candidate to the community.
“Mark is a high-calibre individual with integrity in spades who speaks his mind and wears his heart on his sleeve,” he said.
“He wants to represent his community because he knows we deserve better in the ACT.”
Mr Emerson said IFC was fortunate to have been approached by a raft of passionate Canberrans who care about our community and are invested in the future of our city.
“This movement is about a diverse group of locals coming together to prove that this is our democracy,” he said.
“No vested interests, no hidden agendas and no party politics.”
Mr Emerson said the IFC would announce more candidates soon.
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