Logan mayor’s warning: voters urged to check candidates’ donors
A cryptic election video from a retiring southside mayor has triggered a complaint to the state’s election watchdog.
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Outgoing Logan Mayor Darren Power is at risk of incurring the wrath of the election authority after uploading a cryptic video warning voters to “beware” of who they elect for mayor.
In the video, Cr Power tells voters to “do your homework” and “follow the money” and research the donors of two of three mayoral candidates or risk a political “puppet”.
The video does not mention any candidate’s name but there are only three running for Logan mayor – sitting councillor and former deputy mayor Jon Raven, along with former ALP federal MP for Forde Brett Raguse and retiree James Reid.
Cr Power, a councillor since 1997 and mayor since 2020, has not shown public support for his one-time deputy Jon Raven, who began pursuing the mayoral position as early as February 2023, while Cr Power was still in office.
It is understood Cr Power’s Sunday video, shared by Mr Raguse, was the subject of a complaint to the Queensland Electoral Commission over a potential breach of s183 of the Local Government Electoral Act.
Under s183 of the Act, a sitting mayor is not allowed to endorse a candidate unless they both have declared they are part of an authorised group or a team.
If the Commission takes action against Cr Power, who made his name as a whistleblower, he could be temporarily suspended, pending the outcome of any investigation.
The Electoral Commission was contacted but unable to comment on any complaints lodged about “co-ordinating campaigning”, which is not an offence for those in a declared team.
According to ECQ, failure to register as a group of candidates before engaging in group activities is an offence that carries substantial penalties and is classified as an integrity offence under the Local Government Act 2009.
The mayor appeared in videos with Mr Raguse on February 14 and Mr Raguse boosted those videos by sharing resources and putting up a shared video.
In the video, Cr Power tells viewers to: “Think about who you want as next mayor of Logan as it is very important if you get the wrong person – and we’ve seen what happens when we get the wrong person previously,” he said.
“What you need to look at is the Electoral Commission Queensland website and you need to know where the money’s coming from.
“You need to be secure with that person otherwise, you’re just voting for a puppet because you know there’s no such thing as a free lunch in politics.
“And, if you let that person get into office, they’ll be thinking about how they can get further funding for their next campaign.
“And you don’t want that. You want someone that’s going to look after the residents and have your interests at heart.”
Cr Power did not respond to phone calls.
Mayoral candidate Jon Raven, a member of the Labor Party, said he would be open and transparent with Logan residents and the electoral commission.
“As a former whistleblower during the Luke Smith era in council, I have rigorous standards for accepting and declaring donations,” he said.
“Not everyone can be a self-funded candidate though. To suggest that self funding a campaign is the only way to run is completely out of touch with the cost-of-living crisis facing our community.”
He has reported donations of $233,480 on the ECQ website.
He was also the subject of a letter from federal Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers calling for election volunteers to help Mr Raven’s campaign.
But his opponent, Mr Raguse, who is running as an independent, said Cr Power’s video was not endorsing him, even though he promoted it on his own social media pages.
Mr Raguse, a managing director of a real estate, finance and mortgage business, said his 13 Electoral Commission of Queensland declarations showed he was self-funded with donations from him and his family business Strategm “with a couple of small personal donations from supporters”.
He said he was not “teaming up” with the outgoing mayor and said Mr Power was not endorsing him.
“I have watched the same video and nowhere has Darren endorsed me, irrespective of what anyone says,” Mr Raguse said.
“In fact, Darren told viewers some candidates may be comfortable with donations but he was not, which is him telling people to make up their own minds.
“Darren Power and I are not teaming and don’t even fit the criteria.
“The ‘Labor candidates’, who have been sharing volunteers at the pre-poll booths, have been supported with letters from Jim Chalmers and the ‘Yarrabilba ALP Branch’, which shows they are ‘teaming’ – which can include disqualification, if proven.”
The third candidate, Mr Reid said he believed the video showed Cr Power’s support for Mr Raguse.
“I believe that video should not be in any way part of an election campaign,” Mr Reid said.
“As for funding, I have totally funded my own campaign out of my own meagre funds including the use of old corflutes from 2020.”
According to the ECQ website, Mr Raven had 85 donations totalling $233,480 with the largest $50,000 from McPhee Distribution Services, a logistics and distribution company with a facility at Larapinta.
His next largest donation, $20,000, came from China-Australia Education and Culture Exchange Pty Ltd.
The Australian registered company has specialised in services for cultural and educational exchanges between Australia and China since it was set up in 1990.
Donations of $5000 came from tech start-up Go 1 founder Vu Tran and a further $4000 from McDonald’s franchise owner Janelle McGinley.
Mr Raven also received $5000 from the Transport Workers Union of Australia Queensland branch. He said a listing for a further $5000 from the Transport Workers Union NSW/QLD (Interim Governance) Branch was an online error.
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