'We've had a good run': Pineapple Hooper on track for defeat in Rockhampton

Accidental' mayor, elevated to top job under a controversial runner-up succession rule, claims moral (if not actual) victory

A barefoot climate change activist dubbed Queensland's accidental mayor appears set to fail in his bid to put the coal and beef-loving city of Rockhampton on a greener path.

Chris Pineapple" Hooper, a bike-riding, self-declared ratbag, is running third as the count continues in Saturday's mayoral byelection, sparked by the shock resignation of long-serving civic leader Margaret Strelow in November 2020.