A wave of women has taken control during South Australia's council elections, including at Adelaide City Council, where Sandy Verschoor has been elected as Lord Mayor.

She received 3,596 first-preference votes to defeat lawyer Mark Hamilton on 2,330.

The state's four largest councils — Onkaparinga, Salisbury, Port Adelaide Enfield and Charles Sturt — also look set to be led by female mayors.

The two largest cities outside of Adelaide — Mt Gambier and Whyalla — also have new female mayors.

Campbelltown, Adelaide Hills, Walkerville, Mitcham, Burnside, Holdfast Bay, Victor Harbor, Robe, Kingston and Karoonda East Murray also elected new female mayors.

Outgoing Adelaide lord mayor Martin Haese announced in September he would not seek re-election for "personal reasons".

He said he supported Councillor Verschoor but stopped short of endorsing her.

She has been an area councillor since 2015 and deputy mayor since 2017.

Councillor Verschoor said she would focus on "how we grow business, how we bring new communities together and strengthen the communities we have".

"I'm very much about creating a dynamic city culture," she said.

"I love Adelaide — I think Adelaide's an amazing place and right now there's some incredible opportunities that I see that will really push our city forward."

Adelaide has had two female lord mayors — Wendy Chapman from 1983 to 1985 and Jane Lomax-Smith from 1997 to 2000.

Mr Hamilton is a partner in a commercial law firm, and was a councillor from 1982 to 1993 and 2010 to 2014, when he ran for mayor unsuccessfully.

Jill Whittaker is the first female mayor of Campbelltown since it was founded in 1868. ( ABC News )

The other two candidates were bookshop owner Kate Treloar and dance studio owner Steven Kelly.

Adelaide City Council had an equal number of men and women for the first time when Ms Verschoor was elected at a by-election in 2015.

"Local government is very close to its communities and has a very important place so its wonderful to see women putting themselves forward," she said.

"It is actually really hard to do so acknowledge and wish everyone else and I look forward to meeting them."

Former Greens senator Robert Simms was elected as an area councillor, along with domestic violence campaigner Arman Abrahimzadeh, Anne Moran and Franz Knoll — the father of Transport Minister Stephan Knoll.

Actor and disability advocate Quentin Kenihan appeared at the top of the Adelaide City Council ballot for area councillor despite dying last month.

No record was kept of how many people voted for Kenihan, with his votes automatically allocated to whoever the voter put as their second preference.

Controversial mayors defeated across state

In Port Pirie, Mayor John Rohde was defeated by Leon Stephens days after the South Australian ombudsman found Mr Rohde committed misconduct "at the higher end of the scale" over a trip to the Philippines that took place months after he had formed a relationship online with a Filipina woman.

John Rohde was mayor of Port Pirie from 2014 until yesterday. ( Supplied: LGA )

In Whyalla, Mayor Lyn Breuer, who is accused of assaulting the wife of councillor Tom Antonio at last year's Remembrance Day commemorations, lost to Clare McLaughlin, while Mr Antonio came second.



On Kangaroo Island, former Liberal MP Michael Pengilly beat incumbent Peter Clements.

Unley Council media adviser Erin Thompson has been elected Mayor of Onkaparinga, after Lorraine Rosenberg stepped down following a year plagued by issues around council spending and leadership.

Burnside Mayor David Parkin lost to Anne Monceaux after a term riven by infighting.

Voting in council elections is voluntary in South Australia.

State-wide, 395,000 ballots were returned — a turnout of 32.6 per cent, up from 31.99 per cent in 2014.

The highest turnout was in the Eyre Peninsula town of Kimba — at 81 per cent — while in Adelaide it was Mitcham at 38 per cent.