Marion Council mayoral candidate believes Kris Hanna should be banned

A Marion mayoral candidate believes incumbent Kris Hanna should be banned from standing in the local government election due to a previous campaign breach.

Marion Council mayor Kris Hanna outside of court in 2020. Picture: Kathryn Bermingham

A Marion mayoral candidate believes the Electoral Commission should ban incumbent Kris Hanna from running in the November polls for a previous campaign breach.

Jaison Midzi says he believes Mr Hanna should be disqualified from the November 12 local government elections after he was found guilty in 2020 for breaching the Electoral Act.

Mr Midzi told The Advertiser he thought it was “outrageous” a candidate who was found to have published inaccurate statements in flyers during the 2018 election was allowed to run again.

“Hanna should do the honourable thing and withdraw and resign as a candidate for mayor of Marion,” Mr Midzi said.

Mayoral candidate Jaison Midzi

Marion Mayor Kris Hanna. Picture: Emma Brasier

Mr Hanna, a former state MP, was fined $600 for publishing inaccurate statements in a flyer about pay increases for members of the Local Government Association.

No conviction was recorded.

Mr Hanna letterboxed 24,000 flyers to council residents that incorrectly claimed the pay increase for the LGA board was $40,000 rather than $4000.

At the time, he claimed it was a “careless mistake” for which he had paid a “heavy price”.

The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard the publication had no impact on the election outcome, in which Mr Hanna received more than 9000 votes.

Magistrate Benjamin Sale at the time praised Mr Hanna’s decades of service to the community in both the House of Assembly and Marion Council.

“We’re dealing with a man who spent decades of his professional life as a politician and this is the first time he comes before any court, that’s of significance in my mind,” he said.

Mr Midzi said he was offering a “clean start” for the council.

“The ratepayers of Marion want low rates, rubbish to be collected on time and parks and libraries to be maintained and community groups supported,” he said.

On the call for him to be disqualified, Mr Hanna told The Advertiser: “Sadly, this is dirty politics and nothing more than that”.