‘Mixed emotions’: Logan mayor to step down at next election

Logan Mayor Darren Power has announced he will retire at the next council election in March.

It was with “mixed emotions” that the mayor of four years made the announcement this weekend, saying it was not an easy decision.

Darren Power was a long-serving member of the council before it was effectively swept aside by the state's corruption watchdog in 2019.

“Looking ahead, I’m eager to spend more time with my family – without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I’ve done,” he said in a statement online.

“I don’t have all the answers about what’s next, but I leave this role with confidence, knowing our decisions were always for the best of our city.”

Power was a councillor in 2019 amid a Crime and Corruption Commission probe that later resulted in the council being sacked en masse by the state government after eight councillors, including then-mayor Luke Smith, were charged.

Power, and four other councillors who blew the whistle to the CCC, were not charged.

At the time, Power said the councillors had “gone through hell”. Tamara O’Shea, the former director-general of the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, was later placed in charge of the council as the case proceeded through the courts.

Power, who was elected to council in 1997, said he would continue his mayoral duties in the coming months, adding there was “much work to be done”.

“This council team has set high standards from day one. They’ve worked together to create a culture of good and transparent decision-making and leadership,” he said.

“The community should expect nothing less from whoever sits in the chamber in the years to come.”

Logan, south of Brisbane, had a population of about 360,000 people last year, and is considered one of the fastest-growing areas in south-east Queensland.

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