Six challengers for mayoralty

Wayne Brown faces six challengers for the far North mayoralty, which will be decided on October 12.

Mr Brown, who has served two terms since he defeated Yvonne Sharp in 2007, is challenged by former Northland MP John Carter, who has returned from his stint as High Commissioner to the Cook Islands and is once again living at Waipapkauri Ramp, current district councillor Ann Court (Kerikeri), Mita Harris, Reuben Taipari Porter (Ahipara), Awanui farmer Allan Titford and Sarah Watson (Cooper's Beach).

Meanwhile there are more candidates than district council seats in each of the three wards. Those candidates (incumbents marked with an asterisk) are:

Bay of Islands-Whangaroa (four seats) - Craig Ambler, Harko Brown, Ann Court*, John Davison, Dave Hookway, Martin Leiding, Di Maxwell*, Tania McInnes, 2010 mayoral candidate Hugh McKechnie, Steve McNally*, Willow-Jean Prime, Doug Schmuck, Stephen Timings and Jerry Twigden.

Te Hiku (three seats) - David Collard, Peter Furze, Colin Kitchen*, Monty Knight*, Rangitane Marsden, Bryce McDonald, Ken Mullarkey, Helen Munro, Mate Radich*, JT Tahana and Hazely Windelborn.

Kaikohe-Hokianga (two seats) - Laurie Byers, Mike Fitzgerald, Babe Kapa, Sally Macauley*, Timi Ngatai-Haenga, Ken Rintoul and John Vujcich.

COMMUNITY BOARDS

Meanwhile there are sufficient candidates to require elections within all but three of the community board subdivisions. The candidates are:

Bay of Islands-Whangaroa: Kawakawa-Moerewa (one seat) - Johnson Davis, Kathy Dunn and Margaret Wikaire. Kerikeri (three seats) - Florence Annison, Harko Brown, Sandy Myhre, Martin Robinson, Douglas Turner and Jerry Twigden. Paihia (one seat) - Paul Gorringe and Belinda Ward. Russell-Opua (one seat) - Peter Clark, Terry Greening and Gray Phillips. Whangaroa (one seat) - Bruce Mills.

Kaikohe-Hokianga: Kaikohe (three seats) - Mike Edmonds, Shaun Reilly, John Schollum, Win Stephens and Kelly van Gaalen. North Hokianga (one seat) - Pauline Evans. South Hokianga (two seats - Garry Clarke and Louis Toorenburg.

Te Hiku: Doubtless Bay (one seat) - Clara Lugnet and Mike Ward. Kaitaia (three seats) - Ivan Alvrez, Adele Gardner, Ngawai Herewini, John Kenderdine, William Francis Pomare, David Senior, Yvonne Smith and Rosanne Taylor. North Cape (one seat) - Murray Rae and Willy van der Sluis. Whatuwhiwhi (one seat) - Lawrie Atkinson and Petrina Hodgson.

NORTHLAND REGIONAL COUNCIL

The Far North District's Northland Regional Council candidates are:Coastal North Constituency (two seats) _ Vaughan Gunson, Dover Samuels, Spencer Scoular, Bill Shepherd and Solomon Tipene. Coastal Central (one seat) - Paul Dimery, Martin Hunt, Mike Kake, Liz Nelson, Pauline Rose and Vivienne Shepherd. Hokianga-Kaikohe (one seat) - Justin Blaikie, Joe Carr , Simon Land and Puti Tipene. Ti Hiku (one seat) - Dennis Bowman, Mike Finlayson and Bronwyn Hunt.

NORTHLAND DHB

Those contesting seven Northland DHB seats are: Pauline Allen-Downs*, Florence Annison, John Bain*, Dennis Bowman, Craig Brown*, Shirleyanne Brown, David Collard, Beth Cooper, Brent Doncliff, Irene Durham, Debbie Evans, Mike Fitzgerald, Michael Gardam, Jill Garret, Libby Jones*, Colin Kitchen*, Maureen Lyons-Adair, Sally Macauley*, Ros Martin, Chris Reid, Dover Samuels, Bill Sanderson*, Kevin Singleton, Rosanne Taylor, John Vujcich, Mike Ward and Jonny Wilkinson.