Semenoff says he'll go peacefully

The public has spoken and outgoing Whangarei Mayor Stan Semenoff intends to "go quietly", thanking the public for allowing him to serve them as mayor for four terms.
Mr Semenoff was dumped from the mayoralty by first-time candidate Morris Cutforth in Saturday's local body elections to end his second stint in the top job - he served three terms between 1989 and 1998.
In the 2007 election, Mr Semenoff was elected mayor with 13,285 votes, ahead of incumbent Pamela Peters' 7241 votes, but his support has more than halved since then. On Saturday he polled 6586 voted to Mr Cutforth's 9489.
Yesterday the Northern Advocate caught up with Mr Semenoff as he was about to leave for church, where he intended to "have a chat with my heavenly father" about what the future holds.
He congratulated Mr Cutforth on his win and said he was "very, very proud" of all the things he had achieved while in office.
"We've got the Spedding Rd link started, Kamo bypass [stage two], four laning State Highway One [through Whangarei], the Porowini Ave road link and the Dave Culham/Wally Redwood bridge [across Whangarei Harbour]," Mr Semenoff said.
"We're getting on top of the sewage this time - we've taken a lot of flak for that, but it wasn't of my making - and I'm going to go out on a positive note. I leave the district with the benefit of the last three years where we've invested in infrastructure which never happened before in such a short time frame." Mr Semenoff said the second harbour bridge was crucial for the district and he hoped it would not be put off now he had been voted out.
He said other achievements from his time as mayor included the expansion of hockey in the district - "and if I'd had stayed in there would have been another hockey turf" - the Town Basin development, Cameron St Mall and the Northland Events Centre/Toll Stadium, among others.
"I'm very, very proud of all those things. I will go peacefully and get on with life. I've got a huge business to run," Mr Semenoff said.
"The people of Whangarei have spoken and I respect them for that. It's not about Stan Semenoff, and never has been. It's about what's best for Northland and Whangarei."
He said he was grateful to the people of Whangarei for the opportunity to serve them for so long. As well as his times as mayor, Mr Semenoff has also been elected to the Northland Regional Council and Northland District Health, and served on the Northland Port Corporation in the past.
"I'm very appreciative for the support from people who supported me and those that didn't support me went through the democratic process," Mr Semenoff said.
He also paid tribute to his wife Kim and family for their support over the years.
"The greatest memory I will take to the grave is being the main architect of the Town Basin [redevelopment].
"It is the jewel in the crown of this district."