Deposed Hobart Lord Mayor Damon Thomas mourns his election failure
Deposed Hobart Lord Mayor Damon Thomas is struggling to come to terms with being replaced by Sue Hickey.
To date Alderman Thomas has been too upset to speak to the media.
For a character who loomed so large on the Hobart landscape his sudden absence from the public domain is strange.
His first and only public comments have been two online posts: one on his Facebook page and one on his blog.
Both entries suggest Mr Thomas was not prepared for the prospect of losing the top seat in Town Hall.
"What a surreal feeling being removed as Lord Mayor of Hobart is a few hours on!" he wrote on Facebook before deleting the post.
He then laid bare the confronting reality of having his ambition cut short:
"Same milk carton in the fridge, still a half-finished dessert in the fridge but a post in the Electoral Commission website says that someone else is now the Lord Mayor.
"The vision that you have still appears on your website, the aspirations still sit lonely and forlorn on the now redundant official page and life for the majority goes on unaffected and unmarked."
Alderman Thomas congratulated Ms Hickey and wished her well in the job he so cherished.
"I found it simply the most exhilarating, rewarding and giving role anyone could have had the opportunity to do.
"I was humbled by the opportunities it provided to help the vulnerable, youth and the senior citizen."
Although he accepted his fate being decided by democracy he seemed blindsided by the outcome.
"The people were asked and they spoke ... as is democracy ... but all the same there is a suddenness and a void that failure opens up.
"To life then, in all its mysteries."
Lack of Greens support proved costly
On his blog, Alderman Thomas said his legacy would never be finished.
"The paint was applied, but not to dry," he wrote.
He then proceeded to dissect the reasons for his failure, including a lack of support for his vision and inability to connect with green voters.
"My preference flow being inconsequential does reveal a failure to reach the green supporter base on issues such as the support for the cycleway, LED lights, two-way streets and woodchips. Mia culpa.
"My primary vote showed a lack of support for my vision."
During his three years as Lord Mayor, Mr Thomas focused on raising Hobart's profile and forging strong links with China.
To that end, Hobart is ranked as one of Australia's most liveable cities and China's president Xi Jinping recently confirmed he would be visiting Hobart next month.
"Regrets, I have a few," Mr Thomas added before saying he would "miss the role immensely".
He concluded by urging supporters to "never stop the dream, it will, with passion, become the reality!"
