Erin Thompson elected as new mayor at Onkaparinga Council
Reynella resident Erin Thompson is scandal-plagued Onkaparinga Council’s new mayor, while former Lorraine Rosenberg has lost her seat. See the full election results.
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Erin Thompson is scandal-plagued Onkaparinga Council’s new mayor, while former mayor Lorraine Rosenberg has lost her seat.
Mrs Thompson won with 11,629 votes, beating Gary Hennessy with 10,399, Robyn Holtham, Gail Kilby and Brain Nankivell.
She replaces Ms Rosenberg, who has been removed from Onkaparinga Council altogether.
Mrs Thompson, who lives in Reynella and has two children, has never been an elected member but currently works in communications at Unley Council.
“I am looking forward to getting together with the new council … to start defining immediate priorities so that we can begin delivering better outcomes for Onkaparinga residents,” Mrs Thompson said.
Mrs Thompson’s priorities include making Onkaparinga a destination to keep residents in the area, rather than locals venturing to other council districts to use infrastructure like playgrounds and dog parks.
The electoral commission censored Mrs Thompson’s leadership pitch in October because it was too negative and critical of the council.
It banned her use of words such as “better again”, “fresh start”, “new leadership” and “clean slate”.
The mayor elect’s words came after months of scandal surrounding her new council, which started with a secret payment of its chief executive Mark Dowd’s $6818 golf membership joining fee to the prestigious Kooyonga Golf Club in Lockleys.
Then, in February 2018, Freedom of Information documents revealed spending by council staff, which included thousands of dollars on Apple products, flowers, overnight accommodation in city hotels after functions and an Adelaide Oval rooftop climb.
In the wake of the controversy, Ms Rosenberg’s own councillors passed a motion of no confidence in her leadership abilities in June.
Soon after, she resigned from her role as president of the Local Government Association.
Ms Rosenberg has been contacted for comment.
Mrs Thompson’s ascension to mayor continued a trend of more women being elected to local government this term.
Jill Whittaker became the first female mayor at Campbelltown in its 150-year history, while Heather Holmes-Ross in Mitcham and Anne Monceaux in Burnside defeated male incumbents.
Also yesterday, 18-year-old university student Luci Blackborough was elected as a Campbelltown councillor, making her the state’s youngest local government member.