TONY Williams has been sworn in as Rockhampton's new mayor after the Electoral Commission of Queensland officially declared the result.
Cr Williams was elected unopposed as a councillor for Rockhampton Regional Council's Division 3 at the March 2020 council elections, meaning residents of that division will again be heading back to the polls to vote in a new councillor.
The Rockhampton mayoral by-election was triggered by the resignation of Cr Margaret Strelow in November last year.
Amendments to the Local Government Act passed by the Queensland parliament after runner-up Chris 'Pineapple' Hooper was almost parachuted into the top job, now state a by-election must be held in the event of a mayoral vacancy occurring within 12 months of a local government election.
Mr Williams received 24.82 per cent of the vote or 11,103 first preference votes, while runner up Russel Claus received 15.59 per cent of the vote in first preferences or 6975 votes.
Mr Hooper followed in third place, with 12.28 per cent of the vote or 5491 votes.
Tony Williams said it was a great honour to take on the office of the Mayor.
"I am truly humbled to become the Mayor of the Rockhampton Region. It is a privilege to take on this role and I would like to thank the community for putting their faith in me," Mr Williams said.
"I'd also like to pay tribute to all of the other candidates for their commitment to serve our community as well as the hardworking officers at the Electoral Commission of Queensland.
"On a personal note, I would like to pay special thanks to my family, friends and supporters for their unwavering efforts over the past weeks during a long and arduous campaign.
"I've been in Council more than 16 years now so it's been a long apprenticeship to becoming Mayor but it has been worth every second.
"I am now firmly focussed on getting down to business and delivering for our whole community to make it the best it can possibly be.
"We have a strong team of Councillors who are great advocates for our residents and I look forward to continuing to work with them in this new capacity to drive our entire region forward together."
Mayor Williams' election saw him resign from his Councillor role which will trigger a by-election in Division 3 with details to be worked through with the ECQ in the near future.
ECQ commissioner Pat Vidgen said having 17 candidates meant majority percentages were small, meaning the preference count was key to the outcome.
"The unprecedented number of candidates combined with the optional preferential voting system, meant the counting process through to the distribution of preferences required time to determine mathematical certainty for all the candidates," Mr Vidgen said.
"With Councillor Tony Williams being the successful mayoral candidate, and as he was elected unopposed at the local government elections in March, there will be a by-election as required by legislation within the next two months to fill his councillor role.
"The election timetable for this Rockhampton Regional Council Division 3 councillor by-election will be published on the ECQ's website within the next week."
Mr Vidgen said the prompt return of postal votes was helpful to the counting process, with ECQ teams able to begin the distribution of preferences in a timely manner.
"Rockhampton's around 6400 postal voters took our messaging to heart and returned their completed voting materials without delay," he said.
"This meant our counting teams could verify most of the postal votes before the deadline, and progress to the distribution of preferences more quickly after the deadline.
"Cr Williams received approximately 25 per cent of the formal first preference vote but 58 per cent of the votes remaining in the count after exclusions and the distribution of preferences from other candidates was completed."
Mr Vidgen said the voter turnout for the Rockhampton Regional Council mayoral by-election was high for a local government by-election at more than 82 per cent.
Fran O'Callaghan declared successful in Townsville councillor by-election
Meanwhile, Fran O'Callaghan has been declared the successful candidate in the Townsville City Council Division 10 by-election, receiving more 42 per cent of the formal votes.
That by-election was triggered when Councillor Les Walker was elected to the seat of Mundingburra at October's state election.
Fran O'Callaghan came second to Les Walker in the March 2020 council elections, and after his appointment to state parliament could have been installed in the seat.
However, Townsville City Council instead opted to have a costly by-election, which has delivered the same result.
Overall, Ms Callaghan received 42.23 per cent of the vote or 3522 votes in the first preference count, while runner up Scott McElligott received 30.63 per cent of the vote or 2555 votes.
Mr Vidgen said Ms O'Callaghan had a lead of around 1000 votes over the next candidate.
"More than 7,000 electors voted early or on election day with around 1,600 choosing to postal vote," Mr Vidgen said.
"Declaring an election always relies on the mathematical certainty of a single candidate receiving the majority of the votes.
"In this instance, that mathematical certainty included a distribution of preferences."
Mr Vidgen said there has been a rise in the popularity of postal voting during COVID and the timing of the return of these votes can influence the timing of a declaration, especially when using preferential voting systems.
"Arriving at an outcome following the count was made easier because Townsville electors returned their postal votes to the ECQ in record time, with most received well before the deadline of Tuesday, February 2," he said.
"This meant our counting teams could verify most of the postal votes before the deadline, and progress to the distribution of preferences quickly after the deadline."