Prominent South Australian citizens are lining up to lead local councils after November elections
Former politicians and prominent business people are lining up to lead local councils after the November elections. Who’s got their eye on the top job in your area?
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Council elections are only weeks away, with several interesting mayoral contests shaping up across metropolitan Adelaide ERIN JONES and COLIN JAMES report.
ADELAIDE
Two high-profile candidates will tussle for control of Adelaide City Council, with incumbent Sandy Verschoor and former senator Rex Patrick set to go head-to-head.
A third candidate, businessman Steven Kelly, will make his second attempt after a tilt in 2018 garnered just 500 of the 7250 first preference votes.
Mr Patrick – a self-described “independent” candidate – wants a “city better governed”, a new long-term city plan and will run on an “integrity and transparency” platform.
“People perform better when they know they’re being watched,” he said.
“There’s been too much secrecy in the past council, too many in-camera meetings and not enough sharing of documents.”
Mr Patrick’s proposed new 10 and 20-year plan to grow the city is in direct competition to the existing council’s city plan announced in April.
He also has committed to continuing working on the city’s bid for the Adelaide Parklands to be World Heritage-listed.
When it comes to creating a cohesive council – currently run by the dominant so-called “Team Adelaide” faction – Mr Patrick will look to former Liberal federal politician and diplomat Mathias Cormann.
“He was an expert in maintaining relationships across a broad range of ideologies that were found in the senate,” he said.
“He successfully navigated legislation through the senate through respect and compromise.
“It often led to better outcomes for Australians.”
North Ward councillor Phil Martin withdrew from the mayoral contest to publicly back Mr Patrick, who says his “track record” as an independent in the senate should ground the claim he is aligned with a side.
His only real rival is first-term mayor Ms Verschoor, who led the city through the pandemic.
The former arts administrator and senior council manager says she has unfinished business.
Ms Verschoor worked closely with the state government to provide business support and incentives to reignite the city during Covid-19.
She also bolstered the city’s climate reputation and economic recovery.
Climate and the arts remain central to her re-election.
Ms Verschoor has pledged a $1m cultural infrastructure fund to return artists to the city, half of which would be for a 150-seat theatre and artists hub.
She also wants a new $1m greening strategy to add trees and plants through the city and parks.
PROSPECT
Well-known Prospect mayor David O’Loughlin is not seeking re-election, leaving former Liberal cabinet minister Rachel Sanderson and deputy mayor Matt Larwood vying for his spot.
A prominent figure in local government for many years, Mr O’Loughlin said he had decided to stand down for personal reasons.
“My wife has been diagnosed with a health condition that needs to be monitored until December and we don’t need anymore stress until then,” Mr O’Loughlin said.
“I’ve had a great run and it’s been an enormous privilege.”
Mr O’Loughlin was a former Labor state candidate and Australian Local Government Association president.
He is supporting Mr Larwood, saying he had been “a local for 48 years and was “committed to the community”.
Ms Sanderson, the former child protection minister and Liberal MP for Adelaide, owns a rental property within the council’s boundary and lives “metres” outside it. When she announced her challenge for the mayoralty, Ms Sanderson made a point of saying her first job was cleaning a business on Prospect Rd.
TEA TREE GULLY
One of Adelaide’s more controversial mayors has ensured his council will have the attention of its ratepayers in November.
Kevin Knight has been clinging on at Tea Tree Gully Council since a complaint of sexual harassment of a female staff member against him was upheld in 2020.
He since has been found to have breached his code of conduct more than 30 times, with councillors voting four times to express no confidence in him as mayor.
Despite this, Mr Knight has refused to quit, insisting he has done nothing wrong and been unjustly treated.
Known for doing and saying what he wants, especially on social media, it will be no surprise if he decides to seek re-election.
At least one challenger already has thrown her hat into the ring.
Dernancourt resident and former Campbelltown deputy mayor Marijka Ryan has been campaigning for several weeks.
The unsuccessful independent candidate in the seat of Hartley in the 2018 state election wants to restore confidence in the council and garner the renewed trust of ratepayers.
Residents in the northeastern suburbs probably already have seen her face.
She has been using bus shelters to stamp her credentials as the next person to occupy the mayoral office at the Modbury civic centre.
Two other possible contenders are former Liberal MP Paula Luethen and Brett Rankine, a Tea Tree Gully councillor and son of former Labor MP Jennifer Rankine.
MITCHAM
Former Mitcham mayor and video production company owner Glenn Spear wants to make a comeback, taking on former state election candidate Heather Holmes-Ross.
Mr Spear has been keeping a close eye on the council since his departure at the 2018 elections, with his daughter running a Facebook page dedicated to scrutinising its activities.
Mitcham has frequently appeared in the headlines during Ms Holmes-Ross’ tenure, from an aborted decision not to have Christmas carols to a dispute over an Aboriginal flag flying at the Blackwood RSL.
Mr Spear has concerns a council-funded scheme promoted by Ms Holmes-Ross to install solar panels on the roofs of ratepayers might backfire, exposing them to potential liabilities in the millions.
Not one to hold back, Mr Spear has been firing off emails for several months to elected members and the council’s chief executive, Matt Pears, asking questions about the scheme.
He also has been questioning the proposed expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars on switching a large part of the council’s fleet to electric vehicles.
NORWOOD
Long-serving Norwood Payneham & St Peters mayor Robert Bria is facing at least one challenger.
Mr Bria has been presiding over meetings in the Norwood Town Hall for 17 years, having first spent eight years as a councillor.
Mr Bria was elected as mayor in a by-election in 2006 after the death of Laurie Fioravanti.
Employed by the SA Multicultural Commission, he has spent the past two years working with SA Health’s covid response team as a liaison officer.
Norwood resident and retired lawyer Susan Litchfield announced last month she will run against Mr Bria.
A Burnside councillor and Liberal state candidate in the 1980s, Ms Litchfield acted for Adelaide victims of sexual abuse by priests within the Anglican Church.
Another rumoured contender is self-published author and book publisher Tracy Marsh, who has been a Liberal Party campaign manager during elections.
PLAYFORD
An acrimonious tussle between three-term Playford mayor and former Liberal Party candidate Glenn Docherty and his only challenger, excavator operator Shaun Reardon, is nearing its conclusion.
Mr Reardon has been using a Facebook page for several years to challenge Mr Docherty and decisions made by Playford Council in its chamber at Elizabeth, especially those involving the spending of ratepayers’ money on major projects.
Mr Docherty took defamation action against Mr Reardon, his most vocal critic since the days of former chief executive Mal Hemmerling, over a post which referred to an inquiry by the state ombudsman.
The case, which ended up in the District Court for two years, was resolved last month with a confidential settlement.
It involved Reardon paying $18,000 and legal costs to Mr Docherty, adding to his already hefty legal bill.
Undeterred, he is continuing to use his social media to campaign, hoping northern suburbs residents, especially those near his home at Angle Vale, will support him in November.
The self-appointed amateur financial watchdog has several supporters on council who are expected to seek re-election, including former Elizabeth mayor Marilyn Baker.
MARION
Another strained relationship about to play out at the ballot box is the contest for the Marion mayoralty between incumbent Kris Hanna and long-serving councillor Bruce Hull.
Mr Hanna, a lawyer and former state politician who belonged to the Greens and Labor parties before becoming an independent MP, regularly has clashed during meetings with Mr Hull.
A registered nurse and CFS volunteer, Mr Hull is a stickler for correct meeting procedure, transparency and accountability.
It will be Mr Hull’s third attempt at becoming mayor. First elected to Marion Council in 1993, he is well known across the inner southern suburbs.
His decision to stand against Mr Hanna was prompted by a code of conduct wrongly accusing Mr Hull of leaking information about the arrest of a senior council manager for forgery and theft. Most of the information, in fact, was relayed by a journalist to Mr Hull.
The investigation into the allegation took 12 months, with Mr Hull eventually exonerated but, like Mr Reardon, left with a hefty legal bill.
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