Redland City Mayor Karen Williams under growing pressure to resign after drink-driving charge

There are fresh calls for Redland City Mayor Karen Williams to resign after she was charged with drink driving on Saturday.

Police will allege Ms Williams was three times over the legal limit when she crashed her car on June 23.

On Saturday night, she confirmed she would seek to take a period of unpaid leave, undergo counselling and again apologised for drinking and driving.

Ms Williams described her actions as a “serious personal error of judgement” and said she had received abuse since the incident.

But road safety advocate Judy Lindsay, whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver in 2009, told ABC Radio Brisbane Ms Williams should resign as mayor.

Ms Lindsay was in a Zoom meeting with Ms Williams and other families who had lost loved ones to drunk drivers earlier in the day she was allegedly drink driving.

“She needs to resign from her job and she needs to go and sort out whatever’s causing these issues with what’s happening with her right now because it is not up to us to keep sitting here and pushing her to do that, she needs to resign,” Ms Lindsay said.

“Stand up, be accountable. Exactly what we’re in the meeting for was for us to step in to make these people accountable … for doing the wrong thing, and the Youth Justice Act making these harsher penalties.

‘You cannot do that job anymore’

Ms Lindsay said Ms Williams called her on the night of the incident and she told the Mayor her position was untenable.

“She asked me what should she do and I said do the right thing and stand down,” she said.

“You cannot do that job anymore. No-one will trust you and how dare you drink before that meeting, this was serious for us.

“Our kids had lost their lives and here she was drinking.”

Ms Lindsay started a petition last week, which has since garnered 6,000 signatures, calling on Ms Williams to resign as mayor.

State Labor MP for Capalaba Don Brown has been vocal in demanding for Ms Williams resignation, going as far as to call on Local Government Minister Steven Miles to sack or suspend her.

Over the weekend, Mr Miles said he was seeking advice on whether he had that power, but the Local Government Association of Queensland said it should be for the community to decide whether someone remains in office.

Mr Brown told ABC Radio Brisbane his Redlands constituents were outraged.

“I feel that the trust and respect in her in her position has completely gone and that’s the feedback I’m getting from my local community,” Mr Brown said.

“We all know there’s a court proceeding to happen. But her role as mayor, I believe irreparable damage has been caused and therefore she should resign.”