KEY POINTS:
Interest in the local body election contest for mayor of the Far North district has risen with the decision of the incumbent Yvonne Sharp to seek re-election against the challenge of Auckland District Health Board chairman Wayne Brown.
Mrs Sharp, from Opito Bay near Kerikeri, has been mayor for nine years and confirmed yesterday she would seek a fourth term in the Kaikohe-based office.
In the 2004 election, she had a 1445-vote majority over her nearest rival, having won by bigger margins in 1998 and 2001.
Mrs Sharp, 68, opened her campaign saying some believed the Far North council needed "fixing".
"That is nonsense. The last time the council was 'fixed' was in the 1990s which led to near ruin for the district," she said.
"The Far North struggled to attract high calibre staff, consultants ruled and council services dwindled while rates rose."
Now was the time for building, not wrecking, and the district's hardest issues had been tackled head on, she said.
Mr Brown, 60, a businessman and property developer, lives in Mangonui on the Far North's east coast and announced his intention to seek the mayoralty last month. His health board contract expires at the end of this year.
He has said he wants to lead a back-to-basics council with more services for ratepayers, less bureaucracy and fewer committees.
District electoral officer Dale Ofsoske is urging anyone standing for office, including regional councils and district health boards, to get their nomination in as soon as possible before the August 24 noon closing date.
Voting papers will be sent out nationwide to everyone on electoral rolls.
Voting is by postal ballot and completed papers must be returned to electoral officers before midday on October 13.
