Nailbiting finish in race to become Far North mayor

Moko Tepania, of Kaikohe, may have to wait until Friday to find out whether he is the Far North's first Māori mayor. Photo / Tania Whyte

The 31-year-old te reo teacher currently leading the race to be the next mayor of the Far North is excited at the prospect of becoming the first Māori to lead the district — but he's not celebrating until the final results are in.

In the progress results released on Saturday, six-term councillor Ann Court had a narrow lead over her closest rival, Moko Tepania.

When the preliminary results were released late on Sunday, however, their positions had switched with Tepania taking a slim lead.

The gap between them was reportedly just 247 votes at that point.

The progress results include votes cast by 5pm on Friday while the preliminary results include Saturday morning's last-minute rush.

The final result will include special votes, each of which must be individually verified. That process started on Monday and could take until Friday to complete.

In the meantime, Tepania is declining interviews and resisting the urge to celebrate.

He did, however, say he was feeling "pretty excited".

"I don't want to celebrate prematurely. I just have to be patient and wait until the final results become clear," he said.

If Tepania is elected to the top job he will make history.

He will be the first Māori mayor of the Far North and the youngest mayor, by a significant margin, ever elected in Northland.

Whoever wins, the new mayor will lead a council with a majority of Māori members — also a first for Northland.

The tight mayoral race also means an emotional roller-coaster ride for some council candidates.

In the progress results released on Saturday, one-term councillor Rachel Smith would hold her spot at the council table because Court's elevation to the mayoralty would free up one seat in the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Ward.

Far North District councillor Rachel Smith, Kerikeri Photo / Supplied

If Tepania wins, however, Court will remain a councillor and Smith will be out — but Māori ward candidate Babe Kapa is likely to move up a place and gain a seat at the council table.

Smith described the see-sawing results as "a bit of bittersweet rollercoaster".

"To be so invested in your mahi, and to your community, it's hard not to feel a sense of dread. I was only just getting started, and there is still so much to do," she said.

"But on the other hand, Babe is a great friend and mentor to me. Moko is one of my closest friends, and the person who I believe is the right one to continue to progress our district, with his strong, inclusive leadership.

"I know that the right democratic outcome will eventuate this week, but the waiting game is pretty tough."

Kapa said he too was on tenterhooks waiting for the final result.

If Moko Tepania becomes mayor, chances are Babe Kapa will become part of the four new Māori ward councillors for Nga Tai o Tokerau. Photo / File

Court earlier told NZME that the result was "just too close to call".

"The STV [voting system] is new to all of us, and it's making it a very interesting learning curve. We're just not going to know until they finish counting and checking."

Ann Court was leading the mayoral race until Sunday, when more votes were counted and Moko Tepania took the lead. Photo / Peter De Graaf

The long-serving councillor deliberately kept her celebrations low-key on Saturday night because the vote was so close.

According to Sunday's preliminary results — which may change once special votes are added — the newly elected general ward councillors are Ann Court, Kelly Stratford and Steve McNally (Bay of Islands-Whangaroa), John Vujcich (Kaikohe-Hokianga) and Felicity Foy and Mate Radich (Te Hiku).

The new council will look very different to its predecessors with 10 instead of nine councillors- four of whom have been elected from the Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward — the first time a designated Māori ward has been used in the Far North.

Northland was the first region in New Zealand to have all its four councils with Māori electoral areas and remains one of only two of its kind along with Taranaki.

The Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward councillors at this stage are Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, Tāmati Rākena, Penetaui Kleskovic and Moko Tepania.

Rākena is a Kaikohe-based te reo teacher, father of three, academic and founder of a charitable trust which helps Māori in tertiary education.

He and partner Jude Campbell also own Taiao, a reo and matauranga Māori inspired clothing brand.

Rākena happens to also be Tepania's uncle and in the same vein as his nephew, was not getting over-excited about the results just yet.

"I'm trying not to jump the gun because anything is still possible," Rākena said.

"Moko and I had this discussion on Sunday once the tides had turned and we agreed to just keep things low-key until the results were written in stone.

"Until then, life goes on, I'll continue tending to my kids, hanging out the washing and keep on moving forward."

Rākena said while campaigning, the number one complaint he'd heard from communities, big and small, was about the state of the roads.

One of the four new Nga Tai o Tokerau Māori ward councillors, Tamati Rakena. Photo / Supplied

He said if he was confirmed as one of the four new Māori ward councillors, that would be one of the first things he attended to.

Kleskovic is the commercial operations manager for Far North iwi Te Aupōuri and a son of former MP Shane Jones.

The father of one said while he was happy to be part of the top four, he too was reluctant to celebrate.

"The votes are still being counted, so I can't really be sure I'm in yet until everything is finalised," Kleskovic said.

"I understand this is a privileged role to have, so if I do get in, there are a range of things I want to look at.

"Having clearer communication between the council and our Māori community is really important, as is ensuring a voice to their concerns through people like us.

Penetaui Kleskovic is one of four new Nga Tai o Tokerau Māori ward councillors. Photo / File

"As councillors, we have a responsibility to be pro-active, not just at the time of electioneering."

Kleskovic said a top priority while in council was to permanently remove SNAs and make the process of setting up papakainga on Māori land easier for whānau.

Halkyard-Harawira is a former principal who established Te Rangi Aniwaniwa, a kura kaupapa Māori based in Awanui.

She is also a world champion waka ama paddler, activist and wife of former MP Hone Harawira.

Halkyard-Harawira said this new chapter was a great opportunity for Māori and the four Māori candidates would put their best efforts forward.

"Māori have a number of unresolved historical issues we need to progress," she said.

"Often we are told it's time to move on. Yes agreed, but there has to be a sense that justice has been done for us to move forward.

"We all have the need to feel a sense of belonging to our community whether we are mana whenua or not, ahikā or not."

New Nga Tai o Tokerau Māori ward councillor, Hilda Halkyard-Harawira. Photo / Supplied

She said key issues for everyone were the cost of living, housing shortages, exclusion of Māori to home bank loans, sluggish resource consents and infrastructure, which led to desperation for many looking after their families.

"A few goals for me would be to see 200 fit healthy homes for whānau of all sizes, quicker
resource consents for classrooms, five new kura Reo Māori, good fenced-off playgrounds for tamariki, outdoor park gyms for adults, the return of unwanted FNDC lands to Māori
reserves, and stopping the sale of "abandoned Māori lands."

* All information updated as of Tuesday afternoon, October 10.