Incumbency was the big winner of the night in Queensland's local government elections, with sitting mayors easily seeing off challengers in most major contests.
Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Greg Hallam expects the state to get 29 new mayors, mostly from smaller rural councils and from areas where the incumbent mayor has decided to retire.
"There has been modest change in areas across Queensland, mostly in smaller country communities," Mr Hallam said.
"In provincial regions and southeast Queensland, there was not a high turnover, with most mayors returning."
The most prominent member of the class of 2016 is former Queensland police minister Jack Dempsey, who is returning to the political scene as mayor of Bundaberg just over a year after losing his state seat.
Meanwhile, Mackay was one of the few places to buck the pro-incumbency trend, with challenger Greg Williamson winning 56 per cent of the vote, compared to Mayor Deirdre Comerford's 28 per cent.
Another sitting mayor to go was Gladstone's Gail Sellers, who lost out to deputy mayor Matt Burnett.
Elsewhere, though, the status quo prevailed.
In Brisbane, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk saw off Labor challenger Rod Harding, claiming 53 per cent of the first preference vote despite the LNP campaign being rocked by a sexting scandal involving one of its council candidates.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale was another big winner, claiming 82 per cent of the vote, while the Gold Coast's Tom Tate and the Sunshine Coast's Mark Jamieson were both easily returned
Meanwhile, long-serving Logan councillor Luke Smith has ascended to the city's top job following the retirement of outgoing Mayor Pam Parker.
The result in Rockhampton was less clear, with Mayor Marget Strelow leading challenger Michael McMillan by 37 per cent to 28 per cent.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning and Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill were both easily re-elected, as was Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio.
Meanwhile, in Mount Isa, councillor Joyce McCulloch had 42 per cent of the vote, compared to rival Kim Coghlan's 35 per cent as the pair battled it out to replace outgoing mayor and former Beattie government minister Tony McGrady.
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