Liberal Democrat by-election candidate John Craft has vowed to stand up for the community in key planning decisions if he wins voters' hearts in Paisley Southeast.
Mr Craft, who has lived in the town for more than 40 years, is hoping to become the party's second councillor at Renfrewshire House on December 14 alongside Eileen McCartin.
The dad-of-two has launched his campaign to represent ward six in place of former independent elected member Paul Mack, who was recently removed from the council after launching a hate campaign against some of his colleagues.
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And Mr Craft has pledged to be a strong voice for residents when it comes to controversial planning bids after locals had to fight tooth and nail to get two contentious applications in the Paisley Southeast area thrown out earlier this year.
He said: "The whole fiasco of the Dykebar and Thornly Park planning applications just helps to emphasise the lack of scrutiny by existing councillors, and of the administration as a whole, over what planning officers were trying to push through.
"There are still a lot of battles to be fought over this land, and I will support the local community, who have been magnificent in their work in opposing the wholesale disappearance of this land and ensuring that the best possible results for the community are achieved."
Council officers had recommended permission be granted for more than 600 homes to be built on surplus land at Dykebar Hospital, but the plans were eventually binned in January on the back of fierce opposition from the Save Paisley's Green Space group.
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That was before another application for a 179-home development at the University of the West of Scotland's Thornly Park campus was rejected after a petition against it was signed by 1,160 people.
Mr Craft went to school in Paisley before spending a brief spell at a Glasgow college to study for an engineering career.
Work and family commitments have so far kept him from taking being fully active in politics, but he is now keen to play his part for the Lib Dems in Paisley Southeast.
Alongside being a voice for the community in planning, he plans to support a number of other campaigns.
He added: "I will also be supporting any local initiatives to improve the situation at the old Royal Alexandra Infirmary building, the speed of cars in some of our roads, such as Stanely Road and Glenburn Road, and I will be supporting Councillor McCartin in her campaigns regarding disability parking in Paisley and problems around abandoned vehicles."
The other candidates standing in the by-election are Bruce MacFarlane for the SNP, Jamie McGuire for Labour, Kyle Mitchell for the Greens, Duncan Grant for the Scottish Libertarian Party and Alec Leishman for the Conservatives.
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