Elections for members of the Lakes District Health Board will take place at the same time as the district's local government elections.
The health board election is being held "at large" meaning there are no wards for candidates.
The board covers Rotorua and Taupo and includes Mangakino and Turangi.
It is made up of 11 members - seven elected and four appointed.
This election there are 16 candidates for the seven elected positions.
Deryck Shaw is chairman of the board and was appointed after the 2010 election.
Other appointed members are Ailsa Gathergood, Danny Loughlin and Ian McLean.
Elected to the board in 2010 were Lyall Thurston, Mary Burdon, Julie Calnan, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, Rob Vigor-Brown and Maureen Waaka.
Tupara Morrison resigned from the board at the end of November 2012.
Maureen Waaka died in July this year and was not replaced.
The Lakes District Health Board is elected by the Single Transferable Vote electoral system where voters rank the candidates in order of preference. The number one is written next to the name of the candidate most preferred, a two next to the name of the candidate next preferred and so on.
Board members are paid $18,000 a year while the chairperson receives $36,000 a year and the deputy chairperson $22,500 a year.
Members on the three health board committees also get paid a further $2500 a year, committee chairs are paid an additional $3125.
Members can also claim travel expenses at 77 cents per kilometre for vehicle use.
Voting documents are being sent to registered electors from today until September 25.
Voters must make their postal vote in time to ensure their documents are received by no later than midday, Saturday October 12, which is official election day. Preliminary results will be released that afternoon.
For candidate profiles visit www.lakesdhb.govt.nz.
The candidates:
Maggie (Margaret) Bentley (new)
Janine RangiMarie Bosma (new)
Mary Burdon (incumbent)
Russell Burton (incumbent)
Julie Calnan (incumbent)
Ailsa Gathergood (appointed incumbent)
Mark Gould (new)
Bill Hedges (new)
Simon Kirk (new)
Alexis LewGor (new)
Elaine Macfarlane (new)
Kiri Potaka-Dewes (new)
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait (incumbent)
Charles William Sturt (new)
Lyall Thurston (incumbent)
Rob Vigor-Brown (incumbent)
The teen shot at rival gang vehicles a busy Rotorua intersection in the middle of the day.