The man who has overseen large population growth in the Sunshine Coast says he will not be contesting the next local government election on March 16.

After nearly 12 years in the top job, Mayor Mark Jamieson said he was stepping away to put his wife Lorrell, children, granddaughter and personal interests first.

“I’ll complete my term when the new council is elected and I wanted to let the people of the Sunshine Coast know, in plenty of time, how much I’ve appreciated serving them, the privilege that has been,” Councillor Jamieson said.

The Sunshine Coast’s population has grown from an estimated 286,000 to 365,000 people since he was elected in 2012, and faced major growing pains with plummeting housing affordability, lack of public transport, and traffic congestion.

Councillor Jamieson said the most important role he had played on behalf of the people of the Sunshine Coast was to develop “a team capable of making the difficult decisions when necessary”.

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