Winners and losers: The surprises of Tasmania’s council elections
Counting for Tasmania’s council elections is now done and dusted and some of the results have been surprising. See the biggest winners and losers from your 29 councils >
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One week after close of poll for Tasmania’s local government elections, and all 29 councils have been finalised.
Glenorchy, Devonport, Central Coast and Launceston City councils were finalised on Monday.
In Glenorchy, former Alderman and mayor Stuart Slade (mayor: 2011-2014), who was sacked in 2017 after a Board of Inquiry investigation, managed to snag the last seat, but his former colleague Jenny Brach-Allen, wasn’t as lucky and was excluded midway through the count.
Former deputy mayor Harry Quick, who was also sacked after the BOI, managed to claw back a seat on the council.
Devonport had a smaller field of candidates, and only three missed out on a spot, including disability advocate Tammy Milne.
There were 27 candidates running for Central Coast Council and only nine seats to fill, the last of which was secured by Kate Wylie.
In Clarence, finalised on Tuesday, current Alderman James Walker was in a precarious position but managed to hold onto his seat, meanwhile John Peers lost his place on council.
Clarence Council welcomed five new faces including Emma Goyne, Daniel Hulme, Jade Darko, Bree Hunter and Allison Ritchie.
And one new councillor is making history, with Jade Darko, believed to be the first trans woman on a Tasmanian council.
In Hobart, also finalised on Tuesday, Jax Fox initially looked set to retain their place on council, but they just missed out, while Save UTAS Campus core member Ben Lohberger, one of a few new faces on council, snagged the last seat.
Check out the more suprising results below or check out our full list of results here.
Biggest winners and losers
Not all of the results of Tasmania’s local government elections were predictable. There were several surprises, from mayors and longstanding councillors losing their positions, to newcomers taking on leadership roles.
Here are some of the biggest winners and losers:
Winners: Brendan Blomeley and Allison Ritchie
In the race for Clarence mayor last week it was down to Brendan Blomeley and Tony Mulder, two aldermen with very different values.
The two have butted heads on a number of occasions on council, and there’s been no shortage of controversy over the last four years.
In the end, Mr Blomley managed to win with a 1.6 per cent margin.
Not only was Mr Blomeley elected as mayor, his running mate, Allison Ritchie, managed to snag the deputy mayor position, which was previously held by Heather Chong.
Loser: Kelly Spaulding
Kelly Spaulding was one of the few mayors running for re-election who lost the top job.
There were only two candidates running for Tasmana Council.
After challenger Rod MacDonald secured 53.8 per cent of the vote, the newcomer, managed to muscle Mr Spauling out of the job.
There was just 167 votes separating the two.
Winner: Teeny Brumby
In the 2018 election, Teeny Brumby ran for deputy mayor, but at the final post, she was beaten by Giovanna Simpson.
Four years later, Ms Brumby went for the top job instead, and she came out on top after a comfortable win again Chris Lynch.
Loser: Steve Kons was voted Burnie mayor in 2011, and before that in 1996.
In the years in between, he was in state politics, as a Labor MP for Braddon and deputy premier from 2006 to 2008.
Mr Kons was Burnie’s third choice for mayor this time around, losing votes to Teeny Brumby and Chris Lynch.
Mr Kons loses his leadership to the councillor who lodged a complaint about him, but he will continue on as a councillor.
Winner: Toby Thorpe
Young Toby Thorpe tested his political ambitions with Labor during the state election in 2021 and during this year’s Upper House election for Huon. He was unsuccessful though he came close to nabbing the seat of Huon.
This time, running for the Huon Valley Council, Mr Thorpe proved to be the most popular candidate of 25 and received the highest number of first preference votes.
He also managed to secure the role of deputy mayor, which five others had their eye one.
Losers: Damon Thomas, Jeff Briscoe and Will Coats
Damon Thomas was a longstanding Alderman on the Hobart City Council and even spent time as mayor, but when the numbers were crunched, Mr Thomas only received 240 first preference votes (1.5 per cent).
As votes were distributed, Mr Thomas was one of the more popular candidates, but it wasn’t enough to get him across the line.
“The past 13 years have seen our city grow in stature and progressively develop, and it still remains our unique island capital,” Mr Thomas said on Facebook.
“Over that time, it’s been an honour and a privilege to serve as an elected member of the City of Hobart and as Lord Mayor.
“Representation is the ultimate community service and I have enjoyed my time on the City of Hobart Council.”
Jeff Briscoe’s running mate Louise Elliot received a wave of support from Hobart voters, she was the third choice for mayor and received hundreds of first preference votes.
But it seems hitching his wagon to Ms Elliot wasn’t enough to get Mr Briscoe over the line and the overwhelming support for Ms Elliot did not extend to him.
This is despite the fact Mr Briscoe served on council for 28 years.
Voting is not yet complete for Hobart City, but Mr Briscoe has already conceded defeat.
Will Coats was also not able to keep his seat on council.
Winner: John Kelly
John Kelly was the dark horse of the race for Hobart City mayor, his support surpassing heavyweights Louise Elliot and Marti Zucco, to give winner Anna Reynolds a run for her money.
Mr Kelly, who has not served on council, was the second most popular candidate, receiving 13.60 per cent of first preference votes.
Spearheading Mr Kelly’s campaign was his “secret weapon”, his 30 year old son, who lives with motor neurone disease.
Loser: Jenny Branch-Allen
Jenny Branch-Allen was one of several former Aldermen hoping to make a comeback after a board of inquiry investigation resulted in them being sacked from the council. Ms Branch Allen had hoped to become mayor, but she wasn’t even able to secure a seat as Alderman.
Meanwhile some of her former colleagues, including Stuart Slade and Harry Quick, were able to bounce back.
Winner: Jade Darko
Jade Darko ran for the Greens in federal election in the seat of Franklin, but was no match for incumbent Julie Collins.
Months on and Ms Darko looks set to claim a Clarence Council seat instead, and though the count is only halfway through, looks to be in a promising position.
If elected, it’s believed Ms Darko will make history as the first transgender woman to serve on a Tasmanian council.
Loser: Robert Young
Robert Young served on the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council from 2020, after the controversial departure of Debbie Wisby.
He had hoped to hold on to the leadership, but was bested by Cheryl Arnol.
Mr Young looks set to continue on as a councillor.
Winner: Matthew Garwood
Matthew Garwood has not served on Launceston Council before, but he was able to gain enough support to be voted in as deputy mayor.
Mr Garwood is a known for being a musical theatre performer and for being on reality television show, The Voice.
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