Giving back at a local level has kept former City of Gosnells councillor Ron Hoffman coming back to local government for 30 years, despite having retired twice before.
Mr Hoffman, who retired from the Gosnells council at the weekend, began his career in medicine as a therapy radiographer at royal Perth hospital.
After studying medical physics he ended up as the chief nuclear medicine technologist at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital and in 1978 he won an award for developing a way to diagnose deep vein thrombosis.
He joined local government in 1985 when he was elected to the City of Melville council, which he retired from twice before moving to Canning Vale in 2003.
“Within six months I was back on council because the then mayor of Gosnells Pat Morris asked me to run,” he said.
“I kept coming back because of the feeling that I could help people at a local level and that I was able to make a difference in the area.”
Mr Hoffman retired this time around so that he and his wife could move to NSW to be closer to family.
He said there had been many achievements in his time on the council but the biggest had been the rivers regional council tender process, which saw six local governments unite to build an alternative waste treatment facility.
The City of Gosnells began the signing of contracts for the $400 million facility last week.
His advice for people interested in local government was to never take themselves too seriously.
“I’ve always had a little philosophy about ego, people take themselves too seriously because of their egos,” he said.
“Everyone’s got one, I’ve got an ego otherwise I wouldn’t be out there in the public arena, you have to have one to do that kind of work but you need to keep your ego in a box.
“Every now and then you take it out pat it on the head and then you put it back in its box and get on with the job.”
Mr Hoffman said it was also important to have a good sense of humour and he joked that his third attempt at retirement might not be the last.
“If someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, well you never say never,” he said.
“I have to sell my house first and if it doesn’t happen I may be running again in two years.”
