Michael Victor "Mike" Gaffney (born 30 November 1959) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. He has been an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council

Tasmanian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart...

 since 2009, representing the seat of Mersey

Electoral division of Mersey

The Electoral division of Mersey is one of the fifteen constituencies in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. The division covers only a small area of 237 km².At the 2009 election, the division had 23,568 enrolled voters....

.

Born in Devonport

Devonport, Tasmania

-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...

, Gaffney was trained as a teacher, and entered politics as a Latrobe councillor

Latrobe Council

The Latrobe Council is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It covers the town of Latrobe and surrounding regions, including the coastal towns of Shearwater and Port Sorell....

 in 1994. In 2002, he became the Mayor, and was President of the Tasmanian Local Government Association from 2006. In 2002, he contested Braddon

Division of Braddon (state)

The Electoral Division of Braddon, Tasmania is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The constituency takes its name from the former Premier of Tasmania, Sir Edward Braddon. Prior to 1955, the electorate was known as Darwin. The boundaries and name of the electorate are...

 in the House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 for Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

, but was unsuccessful. In 2009 he announced his candidacy for Mersey

Electoral division of Mersey

The Electoral division of Mersey is one of the fifteen constituencies in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. The division covers only a small area of 237 km².At the 2009 election, the division had 23,568 enrolled voters....

, which was being vacated by sitting independent Norma Jamieson

Norma Jamieson

Norma Mary Jamieson was an independent member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in the electoral division of Mersey from 2003 until 2009. Norma worked as a nurse. Norma is a widow with two children. Her interests include: bushwalking, gardening, farming, tree farming, light aircraft flying,...

. Although not running as a Labor candidate, he received some support from the Labor Government. He was easily elected.