Mid Murray Mayor Simone Bailey will become the next president of the Local Government Association of South Australia, just months after her high-profile bid for state politics.
Mayor Bailey secured the two-year term representing the state’s 68 councils following a four-way contest on Monday, beating out Victor Harbor Mayor Moira Jenkins, Kimba Mayor Dean Johnson, and Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens.
The state peak body win caps a year of political shifts for Bailey. In March, she ran as the Labor candidate for the local state seat of Hammond. While she achieved a historic result by outpolling long-serving Liberal MP Adrian Pederick on primary votes, she ultimately lost the seat to One Nation’s Robert Roylance after a tight preference count.
Because the LGA SA presidency requires her to remain an elected member of local government, Bailey has confirmed that as she is stepping down from her Mid Murray leadership role, she will contest a ordinary councillor position on the Rural City of Murray Bridge at next April’s local government elections.
Tackling cost-shifting from state and federal tiers will be her immediate priority as president.
“I’m grateful to South Australian councils for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading and representing our local government sector,” Bailey said, noting that councils are facing soaring costs and expanding responsibilities.
“I want to ensure councils receive the funding and resources needed to meet those demands without placing further pressure on ratepayers.”
Bailey, a professional accountant who first joined the Mid Murray Council in 2018 before being elected mayor in 2022, will officially take up the LGA SA presidency on the 4th of December 2026, succeeding outgoing president Heather Holmes-Ross.
