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2020 Ipswich City Council election

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Turnout	78.64% (mayoral election)
Mayor
First party Second party Third party   IND IND Candidate Teresa Harding David Martin Pat Walsh Party Ind. LNP Independent Greens Popular vote 54,721 38,029 14,411 Percentage 45.62% 31.70% 14.80% Swing 4.51 8.04 8.07 2CP 62.98% 37.02% 2CP swing 62.98 37.02
Administrator before election Greg Chemello Independent Elected mayor Teresa Harding Independent LNP
Councillors
All 9 members on the City Council (including the Mayor) 5 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Independent Labor N/A 40.41 2 −4 Your Voice Of Experience Paul Tully 20.50 2 +2 Independent N/A 16.49 4 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2020 Ipswich City Council election was held on 28 March 2020 to elect a mayor and eight councillors to the City of Ipswich. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland, Australia.

Teresa Harding was elected mayor with 62.98% of the vote after preferences, becoming the first non-Labor Party aligned Ipswich mayor in 50 years.

The election saw significant changes to the council's electoral system, and followed its dismissal in August 2018.

Background

2017 mayoral by-election

On 6 June 2017, mayor Paul Pisasale announced his resignation, citing a decline in his health due to multiple sclerosis. The announcement came one day after his office was searched by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission and police.

Andrew Antoniolli was elected mayor with 54.44% of the vote after preferences.

2018 dismissal

In May 2018, Antoniolli was charged with seven counts of corruption forcing him to stand down and administrators to take over Ipswich City Council.

In August 2018, the Queensland Government passed legislation to dismiss all Ipswich councillors and replace them with an administrator. The dismissal officially came into effect on 21 August.

Greg Chemello was appointed as administrator to serve for the rest of the term.

Electoral system

Prior to 2020, Ipswich City Council was composed of a directly elected mayor and 10 single-member wards (or divisions), both using optional preferential voting.

In July 2019, it was announced that the 10 single-member wards would be replaced by four two-member wards, reducing the total amount of councillors to eight. Preferential voting was removed and replaced by plurality block voting (also referred to as first-past-the-post by the Electoral Commission), where voters are only required to mark the same amount of candidates as there are positions to be elected − in the case of Ipswich, two candidates.

The electoral system for mayor was unchanged.

Candidates

Teresa Harding, a government contractor and former two-time Liberal National candidate for Blair, contested the mayoral election without any party endorsement.

Two Labor Party members, Mark Williams and Ursula Monsiegneur, contested the mayoral election as Independent Labor candidates.

Pat Walsh was endorsed by the Greens to contest the mayoralty. The Liberal Democrats endorsed two councillor candidates, husband and wife Anthony and Jacinta Bull.

Paul Tully, who served as a councillor for 39 years until its dismissal, led the "Your Voice Of Experience" ticket in Division 2.

Results

Mayor

• Changes compared with 2017 Ipswich mayoral by-election

Councillors

2020 Queensland local elections: Ipswich

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent Labor		37,280	40.41		2	4
	Your Voice of Experience		18,917	20.50	+20.50	2	2
	Independent		15,212	16.49		4
	Team WORK		7,483	8.11		0
	Liberal Democrats		7,433	8.06		0
	Independent LNP		5,931	6.43		0
Formal votes			184,512	100.0
Formal ballots			92,256	88.73
Informal ballots			11,720	11.27
Total			103,976	100.0		8	2
Registered voters / turnout			133,368	77.96

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

References

1. "2020 Local Government Elections". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
2. ^ "First non-Labor-aligned mayor in 50 years likely in Ipswich". Brisbane Times.
3. ^ "How Ipswich will be divided after next council election". Brisbane Times. 11 July 2019.
4. ^ "Pisasale steps down as Ipswich Mayor in hospital gown amid CCC investigation". ABC News. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017.
5. "2017 Ipswich City Council Mayoral By-Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
6. "Results - Division 7 By-Election". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
7. Johnson, Hayden (21 August 2018). "UPDATE: MPs sack Ipswich council, appoint administrator". The Queensland Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
8. "Allegations of corruption related to the Ipswich City Council (Operation Windage)". Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland.
9. "Interim administrator appointed for Ipswich City Council". Brisbane Times.
10. "First-past-the-post voting". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
11. "Qld Local Government". ABC News.
12. "MARK THOMAS WILLIAMS". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
13. "URSULA JANE MONSIEGNEUR". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
14. "Candidates hold tight to top spots". The Courier Mail.
15. "Veteran ex-councillor back with a new team". The Courier Mail. 3 March 2020.
16. "Ipswich City Mayor". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
17. "Ipswich City Division 1 Councillor". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
18. "Ipswich City Division 2 Councillor". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
19. "Ipswich City Division 3 Councillor". Electoral Commission of Queensland.
20. "Ipswich City Division 4 Councillor". Electoral Commission of Queensland.

• Ipswich City Council elections
• 2020 elections in Australia
• March 2020 events in Australia