Redlands mayor Jos Mitchell is on the brink of being forced out of office after her extended sick leave was rejected by fellow councillors. Mitchell, who has been on medical leave since May, has been absent from two consecutive general meetings, and under Queensland law a councillor or mayor loses their seat once they miss two or more consecutive general meetings over a two-month period.
The leave was initially accepted, but a majority of councillors voted against it at the September meeting. According to the Department of Local Government, Mitchell cannot lose her seat until the next meeting, which means the coming gathering is likely to decide her future. If forced from her position, she would be the first mayor in Queensland removed under this mechanism.
Mitchell was elected in 2024 and entered a deeply divided council following the exit of long-term mayor Karen Williams, who left two years after pleading guilty to crashing her council-owned car while drunk. Mitchell has been outspoken about the council's culture and has been the subject of more than 50 conduct complaints, which she has said were politically motivated.
The council's bureaucratic arm also took aim at the mayor in August, submitting a critical response to a state parliamentary inquiry into councillor conduct. The article's source material cuts off mid-sentence at that point, so the full contents of that submission have not been reported here.