Five candidates enter Redlands mayoral race after Mitchell resigns

Five candidates have so far confirmed they will contest the mayoral race, but acting mayor Julie Talty and former local Labor MP Don Brown appear to be the most prominent early frontrunners.

Mitchell resigned last week, triggering a byelection. The council has voted to request a postal ballot for the vote, which will likely be held near Christmas, though there is no official date yet.

Brown launched his campaign on Facebook, vowing to oppose the Olympic whitewater facility planned for the council. In a video posted on Monday, Brown said his experience in government made him best placed for the job.

"We need to make sure that we are not spending $250 million on a whitewater white elephant, that's not what Redlands needs," he said. While the infrastructure for the whitewater centre would be paid for by the state and federal governments, the council would take ownership after the games.

"We need to stop the infighting, we need to stop the mess, and you don't do that by rewarding an existing councillor with the top job," Brown said.

Talty was quoted in the local paper pitching herself as a steady hand following a period of instability. "I've been sitting in the role since May 10, and I've done my very best to put the chaos of the Jos era behind us," Talty is reported as saying to the Redland Bayside News.

Talty was contacted to comment and confirm she will run, but has not responded to this masthead. With Mitchell on leave since May, Brown has been shaping up for a run online for months.

Outside of Brown and Talty, councillor Rowanne McKenzie, an ally of Talty, is the most well-known, while former One Nation and Trumpet of Patriots candidate Gary Williamson and local lawyer Jasmine Person have also said they will run.

In a lengthy post on Facebook, McKenzie said as mayor she would focus on getting the basics right. "With a new City Plan being developed, the state government reviewing the SEQ Regional Plan and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games approaching, the decisions we make now will have lasting consequences," she said.

McKenzie and Brown have both previously faced backlash for comments made on Facebook. In 2023, Brown paid his 2020 LNP opponent Bev Walters $50,000 to settle a defamation matter after he made remarks about her wanting to open borders during COVID-19 closures because she owns a travel agency.

In 2021, then-member for Redlands Kim Richards used parliamentary privilege to reveal McKenzie had been interviewed by police about a Facebook account named Scarlett Rivers, the IP address of which was traced to her house and which had been used to make allegations about Redland councillor Lance Hewlett's wife Sheena.

Williamson is a regular poster of conspiracy theories online. During the 2024 election, The Guardian reported he compared COVID-19 vaccinations to the Holocaust.

More councillors are expected to enter the race, with some insiders estimating up to five of the remaining 10 could run. Should any win, a second byelection would be needed to fill their council seat.