Acting Ipswich Mayor Paul Tully has officially declared he will run in the city's upcoming mayoral election, following the shock resignation of his predecessor Paul Pisasale.
Mr Pisasale was granted bail in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, and said he intends to fight extortion and assault charges levelled against him.
Mr Tully said the charges against Mr Pisasale had "shocked" him, and his council colleagues.
"The developments of the last 24 hours have come as a complete surprise to us all," Mr Tully told reporters in Ipswich.
"I should say that this is a personal matter relating to Mr Pisasale, it doesn't seem to impinge on any Ipswich City Council issues as far as we know."
Mr Pisasale resigned on June 6, citing health complications from his Multiple Sclerosis, on the same day corruption allegations against him were raised in the media.
Mr Tully, who has been serving as acting mayor since Mr Pisasale's resignation, also announced on Wednesday he would seek to make the appointment permanent and run for Mayor when the election is held sometime around August.
He said he didn't think the scandal surrounding the former mayor would hurt his own chances to become the city's leader.
"Paul has gone through a number of investigations, and he's been cleared on every occasion, but none of those has ever been associated with me," Mr Tully said.
Mr Tully said he had a "very limited" contact with the development industry and would continue to keep them at arms length if he was elected mayor.
He said he expected there to be a "Melbourne Cup field" of mayoral aspirants in the upcoming election, which is due to be held within the next 10 weeks.
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