Peter Jones has withdrawn from the residents association to run for council independently. Photo / Supplied
Peter Jones has withdrawn from the residents association to run for council independently. Photo / Supplied
A council candidate running with the city's ratepayers association has resigned from the association to run as an independent candidate.
Peter Jones was announced as an endorsed council candidate by the Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers Association in early March but resigned from the association on June 30.
He will still run for council as an independent candidate.
Jones confirmed he had resigned from the association but said he was "very much in the race" for councillor.
"Rotorua has been good to me and my family and I want to use my skills in financial management and governance to help my city get out of a mess."
He said some of the key issues he was standing on were the "obscene amount" budgeted for the Lakefront development, traffic gridlock in East Rotorua and Ngongotahā, failing infrastructure and the decline of the CBD.
Jones is the third of the association's original seven council candidates to withdraw from running for the council on behalf of the association.
In April Wilhelmina Mohi withdrew from the race for councillor completely and Kevin Coutts decided to run for councillor independently.
The association's secretary Reynold Macpherson and president Glenys Searancke provided a joint response to the Rotorua Daily Post about Jones' resignation confirming Searancke had accepted his resignation from the association "with regret".
"He decided to run as an independent which is inconsistent with his endorsement oath to members and our Constitution which requires a team campaign," the statement said.
The pair said they did not have a replacement candidate to endorse but were searching for one.
"Possibilities are being explored."
When asked if the association had shoulder tapped anyone to see if they would be a candidate, the pair had no comment.
"We guarantee confidentiality until potential candidates are formally endorsed by members and we and they are ready to declare their candidature publicly."
The Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers candidates back in May were Peter Jones (left), Linda Rowbotham, Conan O'Brien, Peter Bentley, Reynold Macpherson and Raj Kumar. Photo / Supplied
When Coutts and Mohi stopped running on behalf of the association, both remained members of the association. Mohi cited workload for her withdrawal, while Coutts said he preferred to keep his reasons for withdrawing to himself.
However, in an email between Coutts and councillor Charles Sturt, provided to the Rotorua Daily Post by Macpherson, Coutts said: "I reluctantly left the group as I am and have always been more comfortable making my own decisions and living by them. No other reason."
After that, Linda Rowbotham was announced as a replacement councillor candidate running on behalf of the association.
The association's remaining candidates for councillor are Rowbotham, Conan O'Brien, and incumbent councillors Raj Kumar and Peter Bentley. Macpherson is in the bid for mayor.
