Mansfield too much focus on self-publicity, as opposed to publicity for the town. The issue was raised again after his prominent role in Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington's homecoming ceremony following her Gold Medal successes at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. In April 2017, Sophie Whitby was elected to represent the Mansfield district as Member of Youth Parliament, on a manifesto which included promoting equality for the LGBT community. Benjamin Bradley has been the constituency (Conservative) Member of Parliament since May 2017, succeeding Sir Alan Meale (Labour), who served the town for thirty years. From 2010 the Parliamentary Constituency boundaries were realigned
Shire of Mansfield was the result of organised political activity, with parallels to other autonomy movements. The Shire is governed and administered by the Mansfield Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Mansfield. The Shire is named after the main urban settlement located in the north of the LGA, that is Mansfield, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 4,360. The Shire is bordered by the Rural City of Benalla, the Shire of Baw Baw, the Shire of Murrindindi, the Shire of Yarra Ranges, the Shire of