Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Four vying for mayoral seat in Tararua district

By Leanne Warr
Hawkes Bay Today·
15 Aug, 2022 10:53 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sharon Wards, when she announced she was stepping down as chief executive for Tararua Health Group. Photo / NZME

Sharon Wards, when she announced she was stepping down as chief executive for Tararua Health Group. Photo / NZME

Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis will be facing some competition come election time, with three others challenging her for the role.

Incumbent Mayor Tracey Collis will have some competition at election time. Photo/ Supplied
Incumbent Mayor Tracey Collis will have some competition at election time. Photo/ Supplied

Last month, Collis, who has been mayor since 2016, announced her decision to run again in the upcoming local body elections.

Nick Hill, seen here during public meetings four years ago, is keen to do some good. Photo / NZME
Nick Hill, seen here during public meetings four years ago, is keen to do some good. Photo / NZME

Dannevirke businessman Nick Hill has put his name forward for the role.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said he had decided to run as he wanted to take the opportunity to do some good.

The father of three served on Tararua District Council 30 years ago.

He was also a former journalist from 1968 to 1982 and worked for the Dannevirke News.

Hill, under the ticket Seventy Mile Bush, was keen to unite the district under the name, which would serve as a reminder of the district's formation 150 years ago with the arrival of Scandinavian settlers.

His idea to rename the district began following 30 years of research, and was posited at a public meeting four years ago as a possible solution to what seemed to be confusion around Tararua District's identity.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Councillor Sharon Wards has also put her name forward for the mayoralty.

Wards, who was chief executive of Tararua Health Group until 2018, said she was approached about running for mayor by others who were looking for a different style.

She had intended to utilise her time around the council table getting to understand what local government was all about.

"That's that scientist and business training in me."

She wanted to know the facts and be able to piece together her own skills and attributes, which she felt would help her in a governance role.

"I think the time is right for me. I well understand what local body politics is like."

Wards said she was strategically focused.

"I'm very mindful of the impact that our decision-making makes on the future of our Tararua ratepayers."

Wards said there was a lot of change and uncertainty in the community, and was keen to use her skills and experience in governance and knowledge of the community to offer up a different style.

"People will now have the option to choose nine people sitting around that council table, and they're going to choose them based on what they see as the abilities of those people."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wards has served as councillor for one term but has also spent 21 years running most of the health services in the district.

She said she had thought long and hard about taking on the nomination.

"It's not a decision I took lightly."

Wards said she wanted to make sure the community had a choice.

"That's what democracy's all about."

James Kendrick at a meeting some years ago. Photo / NZME
James Kendrick at a meeting some years ago. Photo / NZME

James Kendrick (Ngāti Kahungunu) is the third candidate vying for the position.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said he felt the community had become divided in the last two terms.

He felt that nothing had been achieved in the past three years, and was keen to change that.

"Somebody's got to make a decision for the next generation."

Kendrick has been a volunteer firefighter with the Dannevirke brigade, and worked with St John.

He also sits on the Board of Trustees at Dannevirke High School, and comes from a farming background.

"I can relate to the frustrations of our rural sector," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

His time as a referee also led to him being nominated for the Herald's New Zealander of the Year a few years ago.

He felt candidates should be speaking to senior students in the district's secondary schools.

"Let's organise something where we front up to rangitahi and listen to what they have to say."

Both Wards and Kendrick are also running for the Northern Ward.

Nominations:

Mayor (1 vacancy): Tracey Collis (Tararua Stronger Together), Nick Hill (Seventy Mile Bush, District), James Kendrick, Sharon Wards.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

North Tararua Ward (4 vacancies): Roger Earp, James Harold (Get the Basics Right), James Kendrick, Erana Peeti-Webber, Vicki Priday, Kerry Sutherland, Paul Te Huki (Ordinary People Can Make a Difference), James Walker, Steve Wallace, Sharon Wards.

South Tararua Ward (4 vacancies): Alison Franklin, Jared Gardner, Scott Gilmore (A Fresh Perspective), Peter Johns, Michael Long, Dennis Wyeth.

Tamaki nui-a-Rua Māori Ward (1 vacancy): Naioma Chase, Lorraine Stephenson, Dot Watson (Refreshing Local Democracy).

Dannevirke Community Board (4 vacancies): Ernie Christison, Terry Hynes, Ron Wallace, Pat Walshe.

Eketahuna Community Board (4 vacancies): Larissa Barclay, Terry Carew, Everlyne Chase, Selena Lamb, Steen McGhie.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay club rugby: Napier’s McLean Park to host 3 finals

11 Jul 04:03 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Fire in Flaxmere garage sends plume of black smoke skyward

11 Jul 01:10 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Mahia Hunt holds final fixture after marking 125th anniversary

10 Jul 09:05 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay club rugby: Napier’s McLean Park to host 3 finals

Hawke’s Bay club rugby: Napier’s McLean Park to host 3 finals

11 Jul 04:03 AM

Two Māori All Blacks to play in Maddison Trophy final.

Fire in Flaxmere garage sends plume of black smoke skyward

Fire in Flaxmere garage sends plume of black smoke skyward

11 Jul 01:10 AM
Mahia Hunt holds final fixture after marking 125th anniversary

Mahia Hunt holds final fixture after marking 125th anniversary

10 Jul 09:05 PM
Premium
The humour history of Don Martin: Wyn Drabble

The humour history of Don Martin: Wyn Drabble

10 Jul 07:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP