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Hugh McKenzie boasts an impressive resume. .................... Elected to the City of Launceston council in 2011, he is the joint longest-serving member of the council elected in October 2022. .................... He's sat on numerous boards and worked for consulting firm KPMG, however the deputy mayor said that didn't mean he knew everything. .................... "I learn every day," Cr Mckenzie said. .................... "One of my big things is to sit down every day and think about what I did yesterday, and so what could I do better tomorrow. .................... "That's not about perfectionism. That's just about reality, knowing that there's always something to learn. If you're not learning then you're too narrow in the way that you are thinking." .................... No 'I' in team ... Much like the mayor, Cr McKenzie said it was a slower start to the council term compared to others, with several changes in high profile roles and seven first-term councillors sitting at the table. .................... "We're just starting to hit our cadence 18 months into our term," the deputy mayor said. .................... Given his background in consulting, he was aware he had a certain reputation and perspective on the issues that came before the council, which at times clashed with his colleagues. .................... "There's no doubt that I am fairly ordered in the way I think about things," Cr McKenzie said. .................... "I've been trained in governance and all sorts of different things through my journey. Everybody says 'you're a finance man, you're gonna look at numbers'. .................... "I say to people now that I wouldn't employ me on my financial skills, I'd say that's just a bonus." .................... Instead, the deputy mayor said his best asset was his people skills. .................... These came in handy working with council officers to clarify details on issues before it came time to vote on them. .................... That wasn't to say he always went with the grain, or shied away from taking unpopular decisions - like approving the TasTAFE redevelopment against planning officers' advice or supporting charging rates to retirement villages. .................... However, Cr McKenzie said getting the best outcome for the city was bigger than one man alone. .................... "It's not about who did this or who did that. We did this. We. That is what I'm all about, it's all about 'us'," he said .................... "If I've helped trigger something, or helped get us to where we've got to on that journey, then I'm really thrilled about that..................... "It doesn't have to be about what I did because, ultimately, what I did will be a very small list but what we did should be a very big list." .................... Cr McKenzie said having - at times robust - conversations with his colleagues meant a better outcome was reached. .................... "The only way you're going to get something done is you need another six other people to have worked with you," he said. .................... "My view is it's better to have the 12 working together for an outcome - that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. .................... "But if we're having a good hearty conversation, and it's 10-2 or whatever it might be, then I'm comfortable with that." .................... Council reporter Joe Colbrook and deputy mayor Hugh McKenzie chat over a coffee at Inside Cafe. Picture by Phillip Biggs.................... Pragmatism does not rule out passion.................... Cr McKenzie said he wasn't purely pragmatic, there were some matters he was genuinely passionate about. .................... This occasionally gave rise to frustrations, like when the sale of the Birchalls building fell over - something Cr McKenzie said was out of the council's hands - or slow-going on changes to the city's transport infrastructure to allow alternative forms of transport. .................... There were also renovations to the Albert Hall, which required some patience. "You look at the Albert Hall, it is frustrating sitting here three years on and that place has been closed for so long," Cr McKenzie said. .................... "As much as people say you can't keep blaming COVID, we had a budget for the work then COVID came and escalated the budget. We had to rethink the whole thing. .................... "It's challenging but it'll be great when we get it done. The Princess Theatre, again, is another passion of mine." .................... At the end of the day, or at least at the end of his time as an elected representative, the deputy mayor said he felt as though the decisions he made as a councillor were for the betterment of the city. .................... This, he said, came down to a vested interest in seeing Launceston do well. .................... Cr McKenzie raised his family here, was a self-professed lover of local footy and theatre, and a strong supporter of its multicultural community - all things that made the town great. .................... "I've lived here since I was about 10," Cr McKenzie said. .................... "I was in boarding school from 10 to 17. I've worked here. I've raised a family here. I've educated my kids here. .................... "This town has been really really good to me, this was my opportunity to give back. It's not just my town though, it's the community's too."