Maranoa council election: Mayor Tyson Golder unlikely to be re-elected

Despite his mayoral opponent nearly polling at 50 per cent, the mayor of Maranoa Regional Council has not claimed defeat in the local government election.

Early polling numbers suggest the polls are not in favour of Tyson Golder, incumbent mayor of the Maranoa Regional Council.

In the home stretch of the mayoral race in the Maranoa, nothing is decided, but one thing is certain – many have voted for change.

Tyson Golder was elected as mayor for the first time in 2016, trumping incumbent Robert Loughnan by about 1000 votes.

Over the course of that term Mr Golder solidified his position and strong won re-election in the 2020 local government race.

With a 67 per cent primary vote at that election, Mr Golder had more than double the amount of votes of his competitors combined.

Four years later, and with nearly 80 per cent of first preferences officially counted, the incumbent mayor’s support has collapsed to 30 per cent.

It is clear a lot can change in one council term.

In 2020 Mr Golder created the Unity Maranoa group, which proved to be a sweeping success in the polls.

Five of the nine people in the council chambers were official members of the group.

The same group ran again in 2024 with the addition of Charles Weyman-Jones.

Support for Unity Maranoa has also collapsed in 2024.

Only Unity Maranoa councillor John Birkett will have a sure seat, with Unity Maranoa councillor George Ladbrook neck and neck with independent Peter Flynn for the final spot.

Mr Golder credits Unity Maranoa’s fall to an “extreme campaign” from another group.

“There was a very intense campaign that was led by another group,” Mr Golder said.

Mr Golder also defended council decisions made during his two terms as mayor, highlighting comments made about the council’s purchase of a historic grain shed.

“They’re just silly comments,” Mr Golder said.

“You don’t need a business case to buy a historic building.

“You just need to listen to members of the community.

“As far as business cases, there was no business case made for the butter factory, but the butter factory has been a wonderful success because of volunteers that make that happen.

“Feedback from residents are that we haven’t saved enough of our history.

“And just for general knowledge, business cases don’t come with any guarantee. They’re just an opinion of a consultant, which when a business case goes wrong, there’s no recourse.

“A lot of the time it’s just more red tape.”

Looking back over his time as mayor, Mr Golder said one of his biggest wins was propelling council’s finances into a better position.

“I am most proud of changing the financial position of council,” he said.

While current indicators show his eight-year mayorship could be coming to an end, Mr Golder said it’s not over until its over.

“I think we need to wait for the final result,” he said.

Despite Mr Golder refusing to concede victory, his path back to the mayoral position is very difficult.

Councillor Wendy Taylor sits on 48 per cent of the first primary count, with some postal votes still yet to be tallied.

Nearly 6500 votes have been counted – 76 per cent of the total enrolment.

If Ms Taylor does not pass 50 per cent, the lowest polling candidate will be eliminated and their preferences will be distributed – only if a voter numbered every box.

The final declaration for mayor will likely be made before March 29.

Originally published as Maranoa council election: Mayor Tyson Golder unlikely to be re-elected