It will be a fight to the finish line for the three contenders wanting the only vacant seat on Ipswich City Council.

Grant Vandersee, Shawn Ingle and Bruce Casos have spruiked their council credentials as they go on a doorknocking frenzy in the final weeks of the local government campaign.

Around 9200 electors will decide on April 28 who will replace Trevor Nardi in Division 4, after the long-serving councillor announced his retirement. Division 4 takes in the suburbs of Dinmore, Ebbw Vale, Blackstone, Bundamba, North Booval and Silkstone.

Web programmer Grant Vandersee is a first-time council nominee, but his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were councillors and Mayors at Crows Nest, north of Toowoomba.

``I know some people say they want to get into politics because they want the prestige and power. That doesn't interest me, it's always been about what I can do in helping people get ahead. Not pushing them, dragging them or forcing them to do things, but help them realise their goals. So getting involved in government, whether local, state or federal, is a way to do that on a bigger scale,'' he said.
Bruce Casos was a councillor with the former Moreton Shire for two terms. Since amalgamation he has worked under the Ipswich City Council CEO.

``I have an intimate knowledge of how council works, and how to make things happen. I have a reputation of being a team player, and it's only by being a part of a strong team that the city moves forward,'' he said.

Shawn Ingle, also a first-time nominee, has been doorknocking since the first week of the campaign.

He worked as former Member for Ipswich Rachel Nolan's electoral officer during the flood recovery period, and gained a ``solid insight'' to the issues faced by the community.

``As the only candidate that lives in the Division I think I have a current and ongoing day-to-day knowledge of what life is like here. I am very conscious that while there are some areas of the Division doing reasonably well and have the majority of the facilities they need, there are other areas that appear to have been neglected over generations of council,'' he said.
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