With just over 200 days to go until the 2022 State Election, the first candidates have thrown their hats into the ring to contest the seat of Mount Gambier.
Last week both the Labor and Liberal parties announced their candidates set to take on incumbent Troy Bell at the March 19 poll.
Mount Gambier City Councillor and well-known local businessman Ben Hood will lead the Liberals’ campaign, while community justice advocate Katherine Davies will spearhead the Labor challenge.
Mr Bell has held the seat since 2014, when he was elected as a Liberal with a swing of 7.7%.
He resigned from the Liberal Party and became an independent in August 2017 after being charged with misappropriating public funds. Mr Bell has strenuously denied the charges and recently was successful in applying to the High court for special leave to appeal the matters.
Despite the court proceedings, Mr Bell was re-elected as an independent in 2018.
Mr Bell has not yet confirmed that he will stand for election in 2022, but an announcement is expected next week.
Meet the candidates on Pages 4 and 5
