Hamilton City Council has 46 candidates confirmed to contest the 15 seats available in the upcoming elections. Photo / Hamilton City Council
Hamilton City Council has 46 candidates confirmed to contest the 15 seats available in the upcoming elections. Photo / Hamilton City Council
Four current Hamilton city councillors - Rob Pascoe, Mark Bunting, Martin Gallagher and Dave Macpherson - are not seeking re-election in the upcoming local body elections in October.
The Hamilton City Council has 46 candidates contesting the15 seats available. In the 2019 election there were 42 candidates and in 2016, 45 candidates.
Bunting is stepping down after two terms as a Hamilton councillor. Gallagher, a council veteran, served on the council as an elected member from 1985 to 1994, as deputy mayor from 1988 to 1993, and was again elected to the council in 2010 with a second term as deputy mayor from 2016 to 2019.
Macpherson has been a Hamilton city councillor since 1998 and Rob Pascoe is standing down after three terms as a local councillor.
As in the previous election, eight people are running for the mayoral position. Current mayor Paula Southgate and deputy mayor Geoff Taylor, alongside Lee Bloor, Lachlan Coleman, Jack Gielen, Horiana Henderson, Riki Manarangi and New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party co-leader Donna Pokere-Phillips, have entered this year's mayoral race.
All but Bloor, Coleman and Southgate are also candidates for a ward position. Pokere-Phillips is running for Hamilton's new Kirikiriroa Māori constituency, while Gielen, Henderson and Manarangi are running for an East Ward seat as well. Taylor is running for the West Ward.
Veteran councillor Martin Gallagher won't be standing again for Hamilton City Council after a long career on the local council. Photo / Mike Walen
In total, 20 candidates will contest the six East Ward seats which is the same number as in the 2019 election. They are:
Andrew Bydder, Anna Casey-Cox, Jack Gielen, Horiana Henderson, Jess Hona, Amy-Leigh Hopa, Peter Humphreys, Jason Jonassen, Russelle Sonya Knaap, Ross Macleod, Riki Manarangi, Raymond Mudford, Jacqui Stokes, Jake Tait and Tania Temoni-Syme, as well as current councillors Mark Donovan, Ryan Hamilton, Kesh Naidoo-Rauf and Maxine van Oosten.
In the West Ward, 17 candidates have been nominated for the six seats - two people fewer than in the last election. They are: Dave Boyd, Rudi du Plooy, Jose Gonzalez, Louise Hutt, Sanjay Joshi, Dhirendra Kumar Naresh, Emma Pike, Shanti Ralm, Matthew Small, Melissa Smith, Dan Steer, Roger Stratford and Michael West, as well as current councillors Geoff Taylor, Angela O'Leary, Sarah Thomson and Ewan Wilson.
Rob Pascoe has been a Hamilton city councillor since 2013. Photo / Mike Walen
There are six pōtae (hats) in the waka for the two new Kirikiriroa Māori Ward seats. Melaina Huaki, Maatai Ariki Kauae Te Toki, James Ratana, Moko Tauariki and current Māngai Māori Te Pora Thompson have put their names forward.
Hamilton City Council chief executive Lance Vervoort thanked everyone who is standing.
"It takes commitment, courage and genuine care for Hamilton Kirikiriroa to put your hand up for public office.
"In the final 24 hours, nine nominations rolled in, and our governance team has worked tirelessly to review and process each detailed application."
Current Hamilton City Councillor Mark Bunting is standing down after two terms. Photo / Hamilton City Council
He says it is now up to voters to get familiar with the candidates who "all want to make really important decisions" for Hamilton and its future.
Vervoort says: "These [decisions] include everyday decisions about how people move around the city, how we operate our community facilities, through to how we manage rates and plan and pay for everything the city needs."
To get familiar with the candidates, voters should check out the candidates' campaign websites and Facebook pages. There are also special events where voters have the chance to meet the candidates and candidate profiles will be online at yourcityelections.co.nz from late August.
For the profiles, candidates are being asked a set of questions, such as their top priorities for the next three years, their thoughts on Hamilton's biggest opportunity to mitigate climate change, and what qualities they can bring to the council that will help Hamilton Kirikiriroa thrive.
Dave Macpherson has been a Hamilton city councillor since 1998. Photo / Supplied
Vervoort also recommends voters read the Pre-Election Report to understand the scale of what candidates are up for.
Since Hamilton will use the single transferable voting (STV) system for the first time this year, he says it is really important voters understand this voting system and how they'll rank the candidates that will represent them best.
Voting packs will start to arrive in the post between September 16 and September 21 (unless you need to cast a special vote). Voting closes on October 8.
