City of Logan Mayor Darren Power will retire at the 2024 Local Government election in March.
The decision ends a 27-year career in local politics.
Councillor Power was first elected to Logan City Council in 1997 as the representative for Division 10, a position he held for 22 years.
He was elected Mayor in March 2020 after Council had been operating in interim administration for almost a year.
That election brought nine new councillors to the organisation forming a Council through which the Mayor has reinforced the importance of integrity and transparency.
"I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve as Mayor," Cr Power said.
"I've been shaping this city for 27 years as an elected representative and I think it's now time for other people to step up.
"I'm confident my decisions, and the arguments I put forward, have stood the test of time. It's all been based on what's best for the city."
Cr Power said it had been rewarding to lead the current team of elected members as they aspired to high standards of governance and integrity from their first day in office.
"Council has worked together to create a culture of good and transparent decision-making and leadership," he said.
"We have delivered four strong budgets, all under CPI, and set up Council for sound long-term fiscal management.
"We steered the city through the worst flood in more than 50 years and have worked extremely hard since then to finalise Logan Plan 2025, which will be the blueprint for the city's growth and development over the next 10 years.
"This Council has proudly set extremely high standards over the last four years and the community should expect nothing less from whoever sits in the chambers in years to come."
Council's CEO Darren Scott paid tribute to the Mayor's commitment to the City of Logan.
"I congratulate Councillor Power on all he's achieved for our wonderful community over almost three decades," Mr Scott said.
"His commitment to the city and to a unified Council has been outstanding.
"Even at the end of his term, his passion for good financial management and whole-of-city decision-making has been clear."
The 2024 Queensland Local Government elections are on March 16, 2024.
Cr Power, who will see out the full term, thanked current and former colleagues, Council staff and his family for their support.
"My family has been behind me the whole way and I wouldn't have been so successful without them," he said.
Cr Power's mayoral achievements include:
- Securing a major indoor sports centre as a legacy of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- Successfully advocating to stop Inland Rail's double-stacked carriages coming through the city
- The recruitment of Council CEO Darren Scott, which has set the path for a strong and transparent organisation during uncertain economic times and as the city's growth surges.
As the former Division 10 Councillor, Cr Power is proud of community facilities he helped create including:
- Hyperdome Library
- Shailer Pioneer Park
- Cornubia Park Indoor Sports Centre.
He also played a key role in the preservation of environmentally-significant land including Cornubia Forest Park, Carbrook Wetlands and Cornubia Wetlands.
Background:
- Age 62. Born in Melbourne, Victoria. Moved to Queensland in 1991.
- Married to Lynne. They raised their four children in Shailer Park.
- His guiding philosophy is 'the harder you work the luckier you get' and his goal as City of Logan Mayor was to 'make it happen'.
- Passionate supporter of Essendon Football Club in the AFL, Tottenham Hotspur in the EPL and North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
Logan City Council service:
- Mayor: March 2020 to March 2024
- Division 10 Councillor: 1997 to 2019 (22 years of service, representing Carbrook, Cornubia, Daisy Hill, Shailer Park and Loganholme).
- Chair of various Council committees including those managing town planning, health, environment and economic development between 1997 and 2018.
- Council representative (as Mayor) for Australian Local Government Association, Local Government Association of Queensland, Logan Local Disaster Management Group and Resilient Rivers Taskforce.
Other career highlights:
- Undertook a graphic reproducer apprenticeship at the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne.
- Served for three years as a Special Forces Commando in the Australian Army, earning his green beret and parachute wings.
- Worked as a federal officer in roles including consulate patrol, close personal protection and the policing of Melbourne airport.
- Spent five years in Logan City Council's Environmental Health Department as an officer before becoming an elected representative.
- Part of the community action group that stopped the Daisy Hill tollway in the mid-1990s, which led to the preservation of the Daisy Hill Conservation Park and the nature corridor through the city's east.
