David O’Loughlin, President of the Local Government Association, has narrowly avoided facing a challenge to his survival in the job at the LGA’s general meeting this morning.

The Prospect Mayor took leave until April 30 when he stood for the state seat of Adelaide for Labor.

Despite a high profile campaign, he failed to unseat the sitting Liberal member Rachel Sanderson.

An amendment to the LGA’s constitution requiring a president to vacate the position if standing for a state or federal seat was on the agenda to be debated at the meeting.

It is understood a motion from the floor of the meeting was planned by a councillor to make that motion retrospective and apply to O’Loughlin – meaning his term would have been over.

But the plan was scuttled when a motion to defer a vote on the amendment by John Trainer, Mayor of West Torrens, was carried by a majority. A vote on the amendment is expected in October.

O’Loughlin will take over the role from Acting President Lorraine Rosenberg at the end of this month.

O’Loughlin defended his decision to take leave but not stand down from the presidency.

He said every organisation that is not a political party is theoretically apolitical, and that he was happy to defer to Rosenberg on specific lobbying issues if the board thought there was any conflict in the future.