The grandson of a colourful minister in the Whitlam government believes he can win back the Labor Party's good name in Wollongong through strong leadership as lord mayor.Chris Connor, grandson of the late Rex Connor snr, is expected to be selected as Labor's lord mayoral candidate on Saturday."Integrity and character are very important in the upcoming council election and I was encouraged to run because people believe I have these traits," he said yesterday.He will also stand as a councillor in Ward 3.Mr Connor, 56, from Dapto, is principal of Helensburgh Public School, a position he has held since 2008."It's a challenging environment for Labor at both state and local government levels," an ALP source said yesterday. "You have to have your house in order to give it a crack and we believe Chris is the right man."Mr Connor agreed he had a huge challenge ahead but, if anything, the slump in Labor fortunes was all the more reason to stand."I'm from a family who are proud of their strong Labor traditions," he said. "What went wrong with the last council was not the party but individuals who dragged down the party's name."Mr Connor said his priorities as lord mayor would be involving what he called the key players - the community, business and unions - in an accord to push the city forward."We can't just plod along any more as a city. We have to take hold of innovation and change and we have to create employment across a number of areas."But first he said the lord mayor's role was to get council working as it should and he believed he had proven strengths as a leader to make that happen."I work well with groups, I listen, I consult and take advice, and from what I've been told, I'm very decisive," he said.Mr Connor, who is married with three children and three stepchildren, said that he had had five years' experience on Mudgee Shire Council, four of them as deputy mayor."I've always loved politics, and as the oldest grandchild, I can still remember the tremendous discussions I used to have with my grandfather," he said.Rex Connor snr started his political life on Wollongong City Council in the 1930s before he became State member for what was known as the seat of Kembla in 1950.In 1963, he was elected to the Federal seat of Cunningham and after the 1972 election, Gough Whitlam appointed him Minister for Minerals and Energy.It was in that role he later became embroiled in a scandal over an unauthorised foreign loan - known as the Khemlani Affair - which led to his resignation.