2020 Townsville City Council election explained

Country:

Queensland

Ongoing:

Previous Election:

2016 Townsville City Council election

Previous Year:

2016

Next Election:

2024 Townsville City Council election

Next Year:

2024

Election Date:

28 March 2020

Turnout:

74.27% (5.78)

Module:

Election Name:

Mayor

Embed:

yes

Type:

parliamentary

Ongoing:

Colour1:

F6CB47

Popular Vote1:

46,911

Percentage1:

50.64%

Swing1:

8.87

Candidate2:

Sam Cox

Party2:

Independent politician

Popular Vote2:

25,076

Percentage2:

27.07%

Swing2:

27.07

Image3:

TFT

Candidate3:

Greg Dowling

Party3:

Time for Townsville

Colour3:

FCEE4F

Popular Vote3:

16,155

Percentage3:

17.44%

Swing3:

17.44

1Blank:

2CP

2Blank:

2CP swing

1Data1:

61.53%

2Data1:

1.16

1Data2:

38.47%

2Data2:

38.47

Mayor

Posttitle:

Subsequent Mayor

Module:

Embed:	yes
Ongoing:	no
Election Name:	Councillors
Seats For Election:	All 11 members on the City Council (including the Mayor)
Majority Seats:	6
Party1:	Team Jenny Hill
Colour1:	F6CB47
Seats1:	9
Last Election1:	10
Party2:	Independent politician
Leader2:	N/A
Seats2:	1
Last Election2:	0

The 2020 Townsville City Council election was held on 28 March 2020 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland, Australia.^[1]

Team Jenny Hill won all but one wards, with their only loss coming in Division 2. Hill was also re-elected mayor, winning 61.53% of the vote after preferences.

Candidates

Incumbents are shown in bold text.^[2]

Ward	Held by	Team Jenny Hill	Time for Townsville	NQ State Alliance	Independents	Others

Mayor	Team Jenny Hill	Jenny Hill	Greg Dowling	Chris Eastaughffe
Division 1	Team Jenny Hill	Margie Ryder	Nigel Ward	Brigot Pugh	Sandra Chesney
Division 2	Independent	Nanette Radeck			Sue Blom
Division 3	Team Jenny Hill	Ann-Maree Greaney	Nicole Bates	Alan Sheret		Mackenzie Severns (AJP)
Division 4	Team Jenny Hill	Mark Molachino
Division 5	Team Jenny Hill	Russ Cook	Paul Bagenal
Division 6	Team Jenny Hill	Suzy Batkovic	Martin Brewster	Damon Johnstone	Trevor Roberts	Alan Birrell (Ind. PHON)
Division 7	Team Jenny Hill	Kurt Rehbein	Harry Patel
Division 8	Team Jenny Hill	Maurie Soars		Chris Hanson	Stephen Duffie
Division 9	Team Jenny Hill	Liam Mooney		Jacinta Warland	Corey Davis Trevor Elson
	Team Jenny Hill	Les Walker		Fran O'Callaghan	Asti Poole

Most Team Hill councillors sought re-election. Verena Coombe (Division 6) and Colleen Doyle (Division 9) retired, while Paul Jacob (Division 2) left Team Hill in 2019 to sit as an independent. He did not seek re-election.^[3]

Former MP Sam Cox announced in November 2019 that he would run for mayor as an independent, with a focus on a "back to basics" council.^[4]

Greg Dowling, a former United Australia Party (UAP) candidate and professional rugby league footballer, also ran for mayor on the "It's Time for Townsville" ticket. He was officially endorsed by UAP founder Clive Palmer, who spent $625,000 on supporting Dowling's campaign.^[5]

Results

Mayor

Notes and References

Web site: 2020 Local Government Elections . July 2019 . Electoral Commission of Queensland . https://web.archive.org/web/20240111234038/https://results1.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020 . 11 January 2024.
Web site: All the candidates for Townsville City Council in the 2020 Local Government Elections . Townsville Bulletin.
Web site: Mayor reveals her starting line-up for election . Townsville Bulletin . 9 December 2019.
Web site: Sam Cox officially throws hat in the ring for 2020 local government elections . Townsville Bulletin . 12 November 2019.
Web site: Clive Palmer openly endorses Townsville mayoral candidate Greg Dowling and team . Townsville Bulletin . 12 March 2020.