The LNP's candidate for Morningside, Nicole Hansson, advertised for her own replacement for after the election, despite not yet winning a vote. Credit:Facebook But given Labor's Shayne Sutton held the ward with a margin of just under 6 per cent, Ms Hansson's election was far from a fait accompli. The ad, posted on Ms Hansson's Facebook page on December 29, was removed shortly after it came to the attention of Cr Quirk's office. Adding to the intrigue was Ms Hansson's Facebook employment status. According to her Facebook page, Ms Hansson "started working at Brisbane City Council" on August 24 last year.

The LNP's candidate for Morningside, Nicole Hansson, jumped the gun with this Facebook employment update. Credit:Facebook When asked about Ms Hansson's social media faux pas on Tuesday, Cr Quirk said he was unaware of her claims of employment. "Firstly, she's not a council employee," he said. LNP candidate for The Gabba, Sean Jacobs, with his Brisbane City Council-inspired corflute. Credit:Facebook "I'm not aware of that, but I'll certainly check it out."

Labor, too, was guilty of jumping the gun, with its candidate for Hamilton listed on the party's official campaign website as "Philip Anthony – Councillor for Hamilton". It was a fair stretch for Mr Anthony, whose LNP opponent, councillor David McLachlan, held Hamilton with a huge margin of 24.38 per cent. A spokesman for Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding said Ms Hansson had counted her chickens well before they hatched. "You'd think anyone having to rely on the zing and dynamism of Graham Quirk to get elected might want to hold onto their day job until after polling day," he said. "After a number of campaign gaffes already by Ms Hansson, the race for Morningside is shaping up as an entertaining one indeed."

The spokesman shed no light on Labor's Hamilton gaffe, but the mistake was corrected on Mr Harding's campaign website by Tuesday night. Ms Hansson was not the only example of hitherto unelected LNP candidates projecting an air of incumbency to would-be constituents. LNP candidates in wards not held by the party have typically been referred to as "Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's representative" in that ward in election material delivered to voters. Similarly, LNP candidates' election material, such as letterheads, business cards and roadside corflutes, featured a blue and gold pattern down the left side, strikingly similar to that seen on Brisbane City Council's corporate material. Griffith University political scientist Paul Williams said candidates often thought it in their best interest to present a veneer of inevitability.

"Someone, somewhere in the LNP camp has read some marketing psychology," he said. "It's the idea that there's a pre-established concept in the voters' minds that these colours, which are also the LNP's colours, "They're probably trying to tap into the psychology of if you make voters think you're already in the job, the job will come to you more easily. "It's like dressing up in a suit for a phone interview – it's designed to give you that psychological edge." While Dr Williams said he did not think the approach hurt candidates' chances, it was perhaps a stretch to say they would find it helpful.

"It's a matter of how far you push it and at what point the electorate starts to arc up and react negatively," he said. "They could view a candidate as presumptuous or, even further, they might see it as unethical that they're presenting themselves as something they're not." One thing Dr Williams was sure did not work for candidates of all political stripes was the sight of campaign volunteers standing with their candidates' corflutes and waving at traffic. "I can't imagine anybody thinking that would change their vote – 'I was dead-set against asset sales, but then I saw a person waving' – that really tests one's intelligence," he said. Stay informed. Like the Brisbane Times Facebook page