Yule and Arnott back in Hawke's Bay

Lawrence Yule has returned as Hastings District mayor. Photo / Supplied

Local body elections in Hawke's Bay on Saturday resulted in one mayor being dumped and the mayors of its two biggest cities being re-elected, with no change to the regional council.

Incumbent Central Hawke's Bay mayor Trish Giddens was narrowly defeated by three-term council member and farmer Peter Butler by just 76 votes.

Lawrence Yule was returned as mayor of Hastings District with a slightly increased majority.

Preliminary results gave Mr Yule, who is also the head of Local Government New Zealand, 11,150 votes with second placed Simon Nixon on 6626. Mr Nixon won the consolation prize of being elected to council.

In Hastings ward, four incumbents were restanding for six places. Anne Wilson-Hunt didn't regain her seat, leaving three open spots, which were taken by Simon Nixon, Sandra Hazlehurst and John Roil.

In Havelock North, Wayne Bradshaw was re-elected, but Mandy Kimber lost her seat to newcomer Scott Henderson.

Jacoby Poulain convincingly took the Flaxmere seat previously held by her mother, retiring councillor Keriana Poulain, winning slightly more votes than incumbent Henare O'Keefe.

Napier mayor Barbara Arnott was re-elected for a fourth term by an overwhelming majority. She gained more than three times the votes of her sole challenger Michelle Pyke, who received 4062 votes compared to 12,331 for Ms Arnott according to the preliminary count.

The only councillor not standing again in Napier was Harry Lawson, with all other 11 incumbents re-elected. Despite not winning the mayoralty, Ms Pyke took the vacant seat on council. The preliminary voter return in Napier was 43.13 percent or 17,855 voting papers.

Incumbent Wairoa mayor Les Probert was re-elected for a fourth term with a solid majority. He garnered 1541 votes, compared to Denys Caves on 731, Here Nissen on 285, Garry Cooper on 236 and Alice Freida Wairau on 140.

Mr Probert said in 2007 he wouldn't seek another term as mayor.

Roly Ellis was elected the new mayor of the Tararua district with more than double the votes of his nearest rival David Lea. Tararua residents, including voters in Dannevirke and Eketahuna, elected a new mayor for the first time in 12 years after incumbent Maureen Reynolds stepped down after four terms at the helm.

Every Hawke's Bay regional councillor was re-elected. High profile challenger Tom Belford, who runs local blog BayBuzz, missed out on a seat on the council, although a discrepancy on the Local Government New Zealand election results web site made it appear he had been elected.

Results for the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, which was controversially sacked by the Labour government in 2007, are not yet clear.