Bill Close elected Light Regional Council mayor
- 6 News Australia
- Aug 1
- 2 min read
The result will trigger another by-election for the South Australian council.
Results are in for the Light Regional Council mayoral by-election, and in a tight tussle, councillor Bill Close has defeated acting mayor Michael Phillips-Ryder, 1400 votes to 1271 after preferences.
Light Regional Council, based in Kapunda, is around an hour's drive north of Adelaide, and covers a third of the world famous Barossa Valley Wine Region, some of the burgeoning outer suburbs of Adelaide's satellite city of Gawler, and a large area of the Adelaide Plains with its mixed farms and rustic townships.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of veteran Mayor Bill O'Brien in March, who explained his sudden decision to retire was to "focus on my family, my health, and achieving a better balance in my personal life".
"I've cherished this journey and look forward to contributing to our communities in new ways".
Well-liked and respected in SA local government circles, O'Brien was re-elected at the 2022 council elections, defeating then-unendorsed One Nation member, Linda Champion, with just under two-thirds of the vote.
The election was entirely by post, with optional preferential voting used, and sa just under a quarter of the almost 12,000 electors return their ballots. Voting is not compulsory in SA council elections.
Four candidates stood to replace the popular former mayor: current councillor Bill Close (independent), current councillor Simon Zeller (Independent Greens), acting mayor Michael Phillips-Ryder (independent, former Liberal Party member) and Linda Champion (Independent Liberal).
Champion had been the One Nation candidate for the local electorate of Spence at the 2022 federal election, where she garnered a respectable 10.86%. It is not known when she joined the Liberal Party, but she paid for multiple Facebook ads calling for support for the Liberal Party “by infiltrating it with the right people that perfectly align with what the party should stand for".
Close's election will now cause a by-election for Mudla Wirra Ward.
