The timing of the resignation became a point of contention. Cr Mitchell sent her resignation to council by email at about 5am. At a media conference at 11.30am, Deputy Mayor Cr Julie Talty and chief executive Ms Louise Rusan initially said council had received no formal confirmation, and that it was “business as usual”, according to the Brisbane Times. Ms Rusan later said she had just been advised that a resignation had been received.

About an hour and a half after the media conference, council issued a release acknowledging the resignation and the vacancy. It said Cr Talty would remain acting mayor until the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) conducts the by-election.

A further council statement said several attempts had been made during the morning to confirm Cr Mitchell’s social media post, and that a search of official inboxes had found no email. After the media conference, it said, an email sent from a private address was found held in council’s quarantine system. Cr Mitchell said she had used the same address to contact council for two and a half years, and that she gave council the same advice at 5am and again at 11.14am. She said she had received no calls or contact from council to verify anything.

Local Government Minister Ann Leahy told Parliament that her department would work with the ECQ to organise the election. She said it would not be held during the Christmas period, but did not say whether it would be earlier or in the new year. The ECQ said council could apply to hold the vote entirely by mail to limit costs, and that this decision will determine when a timetable can be announced.

In her statement, Cr Mitchell said she was elected as an independent seeking greater transparency, accountability and planning, and that she met with “concerted, ongoing resistance and attacks”. She alleged threats, harassment, vandalism of her family’s cars, a drone hovering over her backyard, and online targeting of her husband and daughter. She also described a personalised, coordinated smear campaign.

She said about 70 complaints had been made to the Office of the Independent Assessor following a callout on an anonymous political Facebook page. According to her statement, all complaints that had been investigated were found to be unsubstantiated by external investigators. She said she had undergone major surgery and has an autoimmune condition, and that the past two and a half years had affected her wellbeing. She encouraged council to “come together to create a more collegial workplace”.

Cr Paul Golle told the Brisbane Times that councillors had not been told of the resignation before the media conference. He disputed Cr Mitchell’s view of the complaints, saying criticism and complaints are part of public scrutiny and that accountability is a fundamental part of the role.