Retiring National MP Nick Smith during his valedictory speech in Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Retiring National MP Nick Smith during his valedictory speech in Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former National MP Nick Smith is shaping up to be a front-runner in Nelson's mayoral race.
Smith announced his shock resignation from Parliament mid-last year after being told a Parliamentary Service investigation into "a verbal altercation in my Wellington office last July that has not concluded" had been leaked to media.
Now he wants to make a return to politics and is one of seven candidates vying for Nelson's top job, Newstalk ZB reporter Pierre Nixon told the Herald's politics podcast On The Tiles - Local Edition.
Nixon said Smith's central government experience could be attractive to voters as a more steady hand.
Current Nelson City councillor Matt Lawrey is also running for the mayoralty, Nixon said.
It's not the first time the pair have been competing in the same race - Lawrey was nominated as the Green Party candidate in 2017 to try and unseat Smith in the Nelson electorate, Nixon said.
"He's a third-term councillor who's also a creator of a popular cartoon on the highs and lows of parenting... but you know what is also quite interesting about Matt? He's a former journalist and was once a presenter on TV One's Business is Booming TV show and TV2's live Lotto draw."
There is a huge age range in the mayoral race with the youngest candidate, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, being 22 and the oldest candidate, Kerry Neal, who is 84.
Richard Osmaston, Tim Skinner and John Wakelin are also standing.
Matt Lawrey used to be a Lotto presenter. Photo / Supplied
Nixon said Wakelin was a bit of an interesting character who has promised to "remove drunk idiots from town".
This year the council has chosen to use the Single Transferable Vote system where people can rank candidates, instead of the First Past the Post model.
"So it's a bit of a change up for Nelson, but the system has been slated as being a bit more fair," Nixon said.
One of the biggest issues for candidates on the campaign trail was climate change after floods wreaked havoc earlier this year, Nixon said.
"I think the main thing for residents in Nelson now is getting their homes back up and running because obviously a lot of people suffered a lot of damage from those devastating floods."
Smith's top priorities were to fix the infrastructure, help families rebuild homes, and make sure insurance claims didn't drag on for too long, Nixon said.
Lawrey also wanted to provide a community hub in Nelson where residents could go to get information and be provided with support during the recovery, Nixon said.
Nixon felt Lawrey and Smith were the front runners in the campaign, but it was difficult to say who would win the mayoralty on Saturday.
"With Nick Smith's experience in central government, I feel like he's got a bit of an edge. However, Matt Lawrey does have a lot to say about climate change in Nelson and that is one of the biggest problems they face."
