REDLAND Mayor Karen Williams has used her website to "set the record straight" about her political donations in the lead up to the 2012 election.
On her website, Cr Williams said she received $138,372.80 from 922 donors, of which 81 provided $200 or more.
She said eight donors were involved with the property development industry and contributed $11,900, or 8.6 per cent of her donations.
The website said some donors, ranging in age from 20 to 90, gave as little as $5 and motivations for donating included that she offered stronger leadership, a fresh approach and financial acumen.
Cr Williams, who first won office as a councillor for division 9 in 2004, has faced down allegations about political donations over the past two years.
The issue of political donations came to a head on September 3 when disgruntled residents held a protest and launched a petition calling on state Local Government Minister Jackie Trad to investigate council and the mayor.
The petition also asked the inquiry to delve into political donations, conflicts of interest and developments aligning with the Redlands 2030 Community Plan.
Cr Williams referred herself and her administration to the Crime and Corruption Commission on September 18 after "repeated accusations and unsubstantiated allegations" about her election campaign and donations.
On Monday, the corruption watchdog told Redland City Bulletin it would not proceed with an investigation of the allegations after an assessment of evidence from the mayor.
Cr Williams said election funding was an essential part of the democratic process.
"If elections are to be a contest of ideas, candidates need money and resources to promote them," she said.
"Without this funding, only the private wealthy will be able to run for election.
"Donations are legal, although they are strictly regulated and must be declared in accordance with State legislation."
Cr Williams said she was an independant candidate, unaligned with any political party, and had provided a list of her donations to the Electoral Commission of Queensland in accordance with legislation on August 7, 2012. That list was uploaded to the ECQ's public website.
She explained why she declared conflict of interests and left council meetings every time a planning application was put before council from one of her donors.
"To ensure full transparency. I am not obliged to do this – I do it voluntarily because I want residents to have confidence in their council."
The website also also said her mayoral opponent in 2012, the sitting mayor Melva Hobson, accepted political donations, a statement which Mrs Hobson has since denied.
"In the lead-up to the 2008 council election, community protest group CARP, supporter of the previous Hobson/Boglary/Ogilvie/Elliott Council, also called for and received donations and as part of their strategy, used the Qld Conservation Council as a third party to receive those donations because that organisation had ‘deductible gift recipient’ status. This means that donors could claim a tax deduction for a political donation."
Community-based protest group Redlands 2030, which Cr Williams said was an avid supporter of the current council Opposition, was also singled out as calling for donations via its website.
"The community needs to know that these accusers will continue with these allegations until you agree 100% with their philosophy. They continue to openly support my current Council opposition, who were part of the previous Hobson/Boglary/Ogilvie/Elliott Council; the same Council that delivered double digit rate increases and budget deficits."
