The CCC this week confirmed the complaint lodged by the LNP against Cr Richards would be further investigated. She has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Greg Adermann will contest the ward of Pullenvale for the LNP in the 2020 election. But Mr Adermann's warning to the party that the LNP could not "afford to go backwards" apparently rang through. In a letter to party members sent before Wednesday's meeting, Mr Adermann wrote that lord mayor Adrian Schrinner "needs to demonstrate he leads a team of councillors and candidates who represent fresh ideas and new perspectives that will drive our city forward". "My experience co-ordinating local members for our recent state and federal campaigns will ensure we have the energetic and effective grassroots team to deliver victory," he wrote.

Cr Schrinner said he understood there had been a large turnout to the preselection meeting and congratulated Mr Adermann on his nomination. "Greg is a very experienced local resident out in the western suburbs in the Pullenvale community, I know he will bring experience to the team," Cr Schrinner said. "I'm looking forward to working with him in the lead-up to March 28 to make sure that he can represent the community out there and do a fantastic job to continue on where Kate Richards has left off." Ms Prentice also pushed for votes in a letter on Tuesday, arguing the party did not have enough time to build up a fresh candidate from scratch. "We simply do not have that time, particularly as we understand the current councillor will apparently be running as an independent," she wrote.

"I am campaign-ready with funding commitments in place." Ms Prentice spent years working in the administrations of Campbell Newman and Graham Quirk before she made the leap to federal politics. She lost LNP preselection for her seat of Ryan in 2018 in favour of then-sitting Brisbane councillor Julian Simmons, who won the seat in the 2019 federal election. Pullenvale is held by the LNP on a margin of more than 18 per cent, but if Cr Richards runs as an independent the LNP can expect to lose some votes. Cr Schrinner said it had not been confirmed to him that Cr Richards would run as an independent, saying he had spoken to her a number of times and it had not been discussed.