South Australia councils see high profile mayors keep – and lose — their positions

Veteran councillor Anne Moran has been ousted after 27 years while high-profile mayors have kept – or lost – their positions in the weekend’s elections.

Dr Jane Lomax-Smith. Picture: Morgan Sette)

Long-serving Adelaide City councillor Anne Moran has lost her bid to be re-elected.

The former school teacher and North Adelaide resident was beaten for two area councillor position by incumbent councillor Arman Abrahimzadeh and former union leader Janet Giles.

Ms Moran, who was first elected to the council in 1995, used her Facebook page on Sunday night to announce her loss.

Adelaide City Council member Anne Moran’s first election poster in 1995. Picture: Facebook

Long-term Adelaide City Council member Anne Moran in 2022. Picture: Facebook

“Thanks for all the kind support, I have not been successful in the council election,” she said.

Other unsuccessful candidates in the city council elections included Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, who spent Sunday packing her office.

Adelaide’s next Lord Mayor is set to be Jane Lomax-Smith, after ex-senator Rex Patrick narrowly lost by 52 votes in a close battle which also included Ms Verschoor.

The former senior council general manager said it had been a privilege to lead the city, especially during the pandemic.

“I sent a text to my successor, Jane Lomax-Smith, on Saturday night to wish all her the best,” she said.

Tea Tree Gully Council’s civic centre at Modbury Centre and, inset, former mayor Kevin Knight. Picture: Supplied

In northeastern Adelaide, embattled Tea Tree Gully Council mayor Kevin Knight lost his bid to hold on to his position, which he repeatedly refused to quit over sexual harassment allegations.

Mr Knight defied several votes of no confidence by his council before seeking re-election against former marketing salesperson Marijka Ryan and vocal council critic Rose Morton.

Ms Ryan was declared the provisional winner on Sunday with 8293 votes, ending Mr Knight’s two-term tenure as mayor and 17 years on the council. He received 4172 votes.

See the full report below.

In other mayoral contests decided on Sunday:

INCUMBENT Gawler mayor Karen Redman convincingly beat former council adversary and retired high school principal Ian Tooley

FORMER Liberal MP Michael Pengilly retained the mayoralty of Kangaroo Island

SALISBURY mayor Gillian Aldridge will serve another term after making quota with 12,665 votes

ANGELA Evans fended off three challengers at Charles Sturt, beating her closest rival, Matt Mitchell, by 3173 votes.

HOLDFAST Bay’s Amanda Wilson obliterated her only rival, Kingsley Ferdinands, 8033 to 759.

BURNSIDE mayor Anne Monceaux also beat her only rival, former councillor Helga Lemon

FORMER state politician and lawyer Kris Hanna beat long serving Marion councillor Bruce Hull and another challenger Jaison Midzi by making quota with 11,988 votes.

Marion Council, alongside West Torrens and Adelaide, had been embroiled in voting irregularities being investigated by the Electoral Commission of SA.

Tea Tree Gully Mayor Kevin Knight lost his bid to keep his job. Picture: Facebook

Former state politician Kris Hanna was returned as Marion mayor

Contests decided on Saturday included Lucindale farmer unseating Naracoorte Lucindale

Mayor Erika Vickery, who as a result loses her role as Local Government Association president only weeks after being appointed.

Patrick Ross – a landholder and livestock farmer at Woolumbool for 40 years – was elected to the council after he secured 2111 votes.

Mr Ross unseated Ms Vickery, who had been mayor for 12 years and who in October was appointed LGA president after receiving a majority of votes from the state’s 68 councils.

The LGA board will now appoint one of its members, from the LGA’s South Australian Regional Organisation of Councils committee, to act as president for the term.

Other outcomes included Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson being convincingly re-elected ahead of three other candidates, receiving 4807 of first preference votes.

Anne Monceaux beat off a challenge by a former councillor to keep the Burnside mayoralty. Picture Naomi Jellicoe

Salisbury mayor Gillian Aldridge thrashed several challengers. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The Prospect mayoral race was hotly contested by five candidates after David O’Loughlin said he would retire after 16 years.

The race was won by his deputy Matt Larwood, who fended off a challenge from well-known candidate and former Liberal MP Rachel Sanderson.

While in Walkerville, Elizabeth Fricker was soundly beaten by Melissa Jones, who brings with her 20 years of legal and business experience.

In the Riverland, longstanding Mid Murray Mayor Dave Burgess was unseated after 12 years by mother of three and current deputy mayor Simone Bailey.

Walkerville mayor Elizabeth Fricker lost her bid for re-election. Picture Naomi Jellicoe

Gawler mayor Karen Redman was re-elected.

Ms Bailey, who has 20 years’ experience in local and state government, won convincingly after receiving 1655 votes.

She enters the role as the region prepares to be inundated with flood waters from the River Murray, with flows expected to increase to 165GL a day from early December.

Meanwhile, in the Berri Barmera race, Deputy Mayor Ella Winnall defeated Mayor Peter Hunt after preferences from third candidate Raffaele Nobile put her over the line.

On Eyre Peninsula, Brad Flaherty was ousted by Diana Mislov, who trumped it in with 2756 votes.

In Port Augusta, Brett Benbow failed to be re-elected, with Linley Shine securing 2858 votes.

Meanwhile, ratepayers in Grant and Mt Gambier overwhelmingly voted against a merger between the two councils.

Jane Lomax-Smith to win Adelaide Lord Mayorship

Jane Lomax-Smith is set to be Adelaide’s new Lord Mayor.

The Electoral Commission of SA released a provisional declaration at 10.26pm Saturday, which saw her nudge out her nearest rival by 52 votes.

Dr Lomax-Smith thanked Electoral Commission staff for their hard work and diligently running a safe election.

In what was expected to a tight tussle between three main candidates, the count did not disappoint and more scrutineers had to be called in to help throughout the evening.

Former senator Rex Patrick led the charge after first preferences with 2734 votes, followed by Dr Lomax-Smith with 2666 and Sandy Verschoor with 2489. But it was the allocation of preferences that saw Dr Lomax-Smith over the line.

The election result was one of 43 mayoral outcomes known throughout the evening as scrutineers continued to count votes into the night.

Many counts were delayed due to flooding and power outages caused by severe storms lashing the state.

In other mayoral contests, a Lucindale farmer has unseated Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Erika Vickery who, as a result, loses her role as Local Government Association president only weeks after being appointed.

Patrick Ross – a landholder and livestock farmer at Woolumbool for 40 years – was elected to the council after he secured 2111 votes. He unseated Ms Vickery, who had been mayor for 12 years and who, in October, was appointed LGA president after receiving a majority of votes from the state’s 68 councils.

The LGA board will now appoint one of its members, from the LGA’s South Australian Regional Organisation of Councils committee to act as president for the term. Other outcomes included Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson being convincingly re-elected ahead of three other candidates, receiving 4807 of first preference votes.

The Prospect mayoral race was hotly contested by five candidates after David O’Loughlin said he would retire after 16 years. The race was won by his deputy, Matt Larwood, who fended off a challenge from well-known candidate and former Liberal MP Rachel Sanderson.

In Walkerville, Elizabeth Fricker was soundly beaten by Melissa Jones, who brings with her 20 years of legal and business experience.

In the Riverland, longstanding Mid Murray mayor Dave Burgess was unseated after 12 years by current deputy mayor Simone Bailey. Ms Bailey, who has 20 years’ experience in local and state government, won convincingly after receiving 1655 votes.

She enters the role as the region prepares to be inundated with floodwaters from the River Murray, with flows expected to increase to 165 gigalitres a day from early December.

400 votes ruled out

Ongoing investigations into alleged voter scams in three metropolitan council elections saw a total of 400 votes excluded from their respective counts on Saturday.

The Electoral Commission of SA is investigating scams in the Adelaide, Marion and West Torrens council areas and had flagged 630 ballots for further scrutiny.

In a statement, ECSA said 23 ballots had been rejected from the Adelaide count, 13 from West Torrens and 364 from Marion.

On Friday, Marion Council was identified as the third council investigated for voting irregularities, with 490 ballots suspected of being falsified.

Electoral Commissioner of SA Mick Sherry said the papers appeared to have been submitted by the same people.

“I do want to point out to both candidates and voters that attempts to unduly influence the outcomes of elections are extremely rare,” Mr Sherry previously said.