by Janine Hill

MAYORAL candidate Ashley Robinson’s only regret about the election is that he might have let his supporters down.

Mr Robinson finished in second place behind Rosanna Natoli.

Mr Robinson said he would have liked to have pulled off the win for the sake of all of those who had helped in his campaign.

“Obviously, I wanted to win and there’s no prizes for second place but I’m thrilled that people voted for me,” he said.

“The only regret I’ve got is that for the amount of people that worked so hard for me, that we didn’t get that win.

“I’m a little bit embarrassed by the amount of hours that people put in just to make this work.

“I watched people working like that and not getting paid. A lot of people did that for me and there was no complaining. 

“I regret not getting a win for them, and that’s the only thing I regret.”

Mr Robinson was buoyed by the fact that more than 50,000 people did pick him as their number one choice to lead the Sunshine Coast for the next four years.

“I expected and there was, obviously, pushback from people about me running for mayor but not as much pushback as I thought I would get, and I got a whole lot more love than I thought I would get, which is kind of nice,” he said.

“I’ve been a little bit surprised by the support that’s come from people I didn’t expect it to come from, and obviously, my family as well. 

“That surprised me, how much support there was from them,” he said.

Mr Robinson had a humorous take on the experience of put himself up for the community to cast judgement.

“It’s like having a funeral without dying,” he said.

He said instead of people gathering around a box to talk about him, “I’ve been there to still see them.”

Mr Robinson has had a long career in hospitality management, is chair of the Sunshine Coast Falcons rugby league, and has been involved in charity work, including as co-founder of the Island Charity Swim, which raises money for special schools on the Sunshine coast.

Considering his future

He resigned from his job at the Alexandra Headland Surf Club, where he had worked for more than 10 years, just prior to the election.

He said he was not “kicking rocks” about the result and said it had helped him draw a line under his career to date and consider his future.

“I’m 66. It’s probably given me a new lease on life. I’ve just got to figure out what I’m going to do,” he said. “I have a few opportunities that have popped up, but for once in my life, I’m going to find something that makes Ashley happy, not something that makes everybody else happy.”