Self-described progressive politician and seven-year CBD resident Keiran Snape won the city council supplementary election by a narrow margin last week. He tells CityMag he wants to bring residential needs back into the chamber and fix the city’s broken footpaths.

Wright Street local and President of the City South Association Keiran Snape was announced as the provisional victor of the Adelaide City Council’s supplementary election for Area Councillor late afternoon on Thursday, 5 August.

Snape, who is also a committee member of green advocacy group Adelaide Park Lands Association, tells CityMag he feels “giddy” to have won, but he’s ready to get to work.

“I want to bring genuine community representation back into the chamber in the just over a year that I’m there for, but more specifically, I want to try and initiate that rolling footpath maintenance scheme [and] get some real action happening on getting our footpaths fixed,” he says.

“Other things are heritage and Parklands, and that’s not so much about changing things as in protecting things. 

“I think we can be a vibrant, active city but it doesn’t have to be at the expense of our heritage buildings or our Parklands.”

Snape first highlighted the decade-long rolling footpath scheme in an earlier interview with CityMag, saying he wanted a “safer” and more walkable city.

There are 14 months left in this term of council, and Snape says managing relationships amongst the current cohort of elected members during this time will be difficult, as there is “definitely a faction” within the chamber.

But he says the election result demonstrate voters don’t want factions but “genuine community representation”.

A total of 4897 of voter envelopes were returned to the SA Electoral Commission, representing 17.5 per cent of eligible votes. 

Snape garnered 1126 first preference votes (25.26 per cent), with commercial real estate company director Kel Spencer coming in close behind at 1082 (24.27 per cent).

City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said in a statement she welcomed Snape and thanked the community for voting.

“There is a great deal of hard work ahead of us before the next general election, as we continue to support the city’s recovery and I look forward to Keiran’s positive contribution in the chamber and in the community,” she said.

The election was provisionally declared yesterday and is expected to be certified on Monday, 9 August. 

Snape said he hoped this meant he could participate in the Adelaide City Council meeting the following day.