Mr Swiggs has been shrouded in controversy amid allegations he sent inappropriate messages to young people. He has vehemently denied the allegations, which came to the attention of media when voting packs arrived on in voters mailboxes last month.
He lost his seat to People's Choice candidate Jake McLellan by 1078 votes.
He said in a media release he congratulated Cr McLellan.
"I have been overwhelmed with messages of support and would like to thank everyone who offered to put up signage, delivered brochures and got out there to campaign while I was unable to. Your support was humbling and means the world.
"Of course, this was always going to be a very tough election given the code of conduct investigation being deliberately leaked to media coinciding with ballot papers arriving in people’s letterboxes.
"I’m still intensely passionate about our city and will always look for opportunities outside council to support it," he said.
The city council appointed retired associate Justice of the High Court to look into the allegations. He dismissed three as they were outside the term of office, but found two were "material" requiring further investigation. One was referred to "another agency", which Mr Swiggs has previously said was the police.
But Mr Swiggs released some of the messages subject to the complaints after he said Mr Matthews had not made his decision with "fair consideration of all information".
And last week prominent businessmen including developer Richard Peebles and hospitality and tourism leader Peter Morrison threw their support behind Mr Swiggs.
