Where are you? That's the message from Auckland Council as candidates for October's local body elections sign up in dribs and drabs.
At the halfway mark for nominations last Friday, just 43 candidates had registered to stand for the mayoralty, one of 20 seats on Auckland Council and positions on the 21 Local Boards.
This compares to 74 candidate nominations at the same point in 2019.
Interest in standing for mayor of the Super City is higher this year, with seven nominations so far, compared to two in 2019. The job comes with a salary of $296,000, but big responsibilities in the form of a $7 billion budget, corralling 20 councillors and taking flak for just about every stuff up.
On the plus side, the mayor gets a generous office budget to run the show, becomes the number one champion for the city, rubs shoulders with Prime Ministers and royalty and gets to cut lots of ribbons.
So far, 10 people have come out of the woodwork and said they are standing for the mayoralty: Manukau councillor Efeso Collins, restaurateur Leo Molloy, Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck, businessman Wayne Brown, media operator Craig Lord, lawyer and New Conservative Party co-leader Ted Johnston, Upper Harbour Local Board chairman Gary Brown, animal rights campaigner Michael Morris, John Lehmann and Michael Kampkes.
Just seven candidates have registered for the 20 council seats, but as council manager governance services Rose Leonard said, there is a pattern of lots of candidates signing up on the last day.
She said it is difficult to pinpoint why the numbers are tracking behind the 2019 nomination period.
"Nominations close on Friday, August 12, and the process is easy – you only need two nominators to help complete your nomination form, proof of New Zealand citizenship and a $200 deposit.
"There's still plenty of time to get nominations in, but please don't put your nomination at risk by leaving it too late. They need to be fully completed and in our hands at midday."
She said candidates and nominators must be over 18 and on the electoral roll, and have the option of submitting a profile statement, photograph and letter of affiliation if they're representing a group or party.
