Editorial: Who will be our deputy mayors?

Andrew Austin, Hawke's Bay Today editor.

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in discussions about who should be the deputy mayors of our councils.

Even the easy decisions would have taken some thought. Bill Dalton, who was elected unopposed to a second term as Mayor of Napier, has been upfront that he chose Faye White for a second stint as his deputy because she was loyal and knew the role. But surely he would have paused to consider either Kirsten Wise or Claire Hague.

Easy decisions have been made in Wairoa, where mayor Craig Little has opted for long-serving deputy mayor Denise Eaglesome-Karekare, and Central Hawke's Bay where new mayor Alex Walker has chosen current deputy mayor Ian Sharp. In Dannevirke, the new Mayor of Tararua District, Tracey Colliss, is still playing her cards close to her chest.

It is a bit trickier in Hastings with mayor Lawrence Yule having to think carefully about who replaces Cynthia Bowers.

Speculation has been rife that a whole host of councillors, including top candidate Sandra Hazlehurst, are keen on the job.

New councillor Damon Harvey has been mentioned as a possible deputy, but the move may cause Mr Yule problems with some of his existing councillors. He has said the decision will be a group one and you may just see someone like Malcolm Dixon coming through to get the nod.

The regional council looks like a straightforward deal with Rex Graham likely to be voted in as chair of the council by the anti-dam faction.

Word is that Peter Beaven and Rick Barker may not be interested in the deputy chair role, so it may come down to new (old) councillor Neil Kirton being offered the job in exchange for his vote in the anti-dam block.

Either way, there are interesting times ahead.