It is interesting to see the high level of interest in the byelection for Mayor of Hastings, as normally these events pass by with hardly a flutter.
But the battle to replace Lawrence Yule is turning out to be hard fought. Once again I was lucky enough to get aclose-up view of the candidates when Hawke's Bay Today held a debate last week.
Nearly four hundred people attended and thousands watched the livestreaming on our Facebook page. It seemed weird having another mayoral candidate debate so soon after the last one which saw Mr Yule go on to be re-elected as mayor.
Certainly the level of debate was better this time with Sandra Hazlehurst, Simon Nixon, Bayden Barber and Stuart Perry all impressing at some stage. The protest candidate in the race, Waitawhara Tupaea, will probably need to reflect on whether his performance at the debate did anything to promote the message he was trying to get across. The sixth candidate, Allister Tosh, who was out of his depth when he debated in the Tukituki electorate campaign, was certainly more polished this time around.
But there are really only four candidates in it, making the choice difficult for voters. Mr Barber spoke without looking at his notes and articulated a vision for the district, while Ms Hazlehurst was able to draw on her vast council experience and did enough to indicate she was a change from Mr Yule. Mr Nixon, who has stood many times for mayor, showed that he is serious this time and got some key points across.
The debate was the perfect forum for the largely unknown Mr Perry to make his mark and he certainly made the most of it.
Now it is up to you to choose who will be the next Mayor of Hastings.
