A recent vote at the Local Government Association Annual General Meeting called for a recommendation to be put to the state government to change legislation so that any sitting Councillor would have to stand down at the time the writs are called from their position as Councillor until the results of the election are known. They would then resume their seat on Council,if they lose, or take the new position they won. It has not been possible to hold both positions since Michael Keenan, former Mayor of Unley, ran for a seat in the state parliament. He claimed he would hold both positions if he won. This upset some people and even though he lost legislation was changed to ensure that could not happen.
There are clear conflicts of interest in being an elected member to Council and running an election campaign for another level of government. What concerns me most is those who believe they know where the conflict lies and don't need others to remind them; they generally get it wrong. At the last sate election about 30 Councillors state wide had a shot at state parliament, some successfully others not. Some stood down and others didn't; there was no consistency or transparency.
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