2012 Townsville City Council election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mayor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 11 members on the City Council (including the Mayor) 6 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012 Townsville City Council election was held on 28 April 2012 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland, Australia.[1]
Incumbent mayor Les Tyrell chose to retire from politics and did not recontest his position. Councillor Jenny Hill narrowly won the mayoralty with 51.58% of the vote after preferences, however Townsville First won a majority on council.[2]
Background[edit]
At the previous election in 2008, the Labor Party, which had controlled the council for 32 years − the longest-serving Labor administration in Australia − was defeated in a landslide by the conservative Team Tyrell, which won all but one of the councillor positions. Incumbent mayor Tony Mooney was among the ALP members defeated.[3]
Less than a year after being elected, Team Tyrell councillor Rob McCahill announced his resignation on 9 October 2008, claiming that a "political witch-hunt" was threatening to destroy his family.[4] As the council was unsubdivided, the entire LGA had to vote in the by-election on 22 November, which was won by independent candidate Trevor Roberts. Team Tyrell did not contest the election.[5]
Changes to the council's structure were brought in for the 2012 election, with 10 single-member wards (also known as divisions) introduced.[6]
Candidates[edit]
Incumbent mayor Les Tyrell announced on 27 October 2011 that he would retire from politics after 32 years, which included 17 years as Thuringowa mayor.[7]
Councillor Dale Last, who was elected on the Team Tyrell ticket in 2008, announced he would run for mayor and lead the Townsville First group, which ran candidates − including six serving Team Tyrell councillors − in all wards. Trevor Roberts also stood for the group.[8]
Labor did not contest the election. Jenny Hill, the only sitting Labor member on council, also ran for the mayoralty and formed Team Jenny Hill.
Results[edit]
Mayor[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Jenny Hill | Jenny Hill | 28,508 | 33.74 | +33.74 | |
| Townsville First | Dale Last | 26,898 | 31.83 | +31.83 | |
| Independent | Jeff Jimmieson | 15,301 | 18.11 | +18.11 | |
| Independent | Brendan Porter | 12,277 | 14.53 | +14.53 | |
| Independent | Harry Patel | 1,516 | 1.79 | +1.79 | |
| Total formal votes | 84,500 | 96.34 | −2.37 | ||
| Informal votes | 3,207 | 3.66 | +2.37 | ||
| Turnout | 87,707 | 80.05 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Team Jenny Hill | Jenny Hill | 32,946 | 51.58 | +51.58 | |
| Townsville First | Dale Last | 30,928 | 48.42 | +48.42 | |
| Team Jenny Hill gain from Team Tyrell | Swing | ||||
- Incumbent mayor Les Tyrell (Team Tyrell) did not recontest
References[edit]
- ^ "2012 Local Government Elections". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024.
- ^ "Uphill battle for King Les's man". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "How it happened: a defining moment in politics". Townsville Bulletin. 15 March 2018.
- ^ "Councillor quits amidst 'witch-hunt' claims". ABC News.
- ^ "McCahill resignation forces Townsville council by-election". ABC News.
- ^ "2011- 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Electoral Commission of Queensland.
- ^ "Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell has just announced he will not run at the next council elections". Facebook. Townsville Bulletin.
- ^ "Former Townsville First councillor Trevor Roberts announces re-election bid in Division 6". Townsville Bulletin.
- ^ "2012 Townsville City Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland.