Whanganui deputy mayor Jenny Duncan was not ready to disclose whether she would seek re-election or not.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui deputy mayor Jenny Duncan was not ready to disclose whether she would seek re-election or not.
Photo / Bevan Conley
The majority of sitting Whanganui District councillors have indicated that they will be standing for re-election in October.
Deputy mayor Jenny Duncan however is not willing to disclose her intentions just yet.
"I'm playing my cards close to my chest right now," she said.
Duncan said she did not wish to make further comments at this stage. She has served three terms on the council since being elected in 2013 and two terms as deputy mayor.
Councillors Helen Craig and Brent Crossan had also not indicated whether they would stand.
Current councillors are not obliged to declare their intentions until the candidate nominations and roll closes at midday on August 12.
However current Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall announced his intention to stand for re-election last year and sitting councillors Kate Joblin, Rob Vinsen, Philippa Baker-Hogan and Alan Taylor confirmed to the Chronicle in April that they intend to stand for re-election.
Councillors Josh Chandulal-Mackay, James Barron and Charlie Anderson have now also confirmed that they will be standing while two-term councillors Hadleigh Reid and Graeme Young have announced that they will not be seeking another term at the table.
Graeme Young has served two terms on the council and said it is time to give someone else a go.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Young, a retired engineering consultant first elected in 2016 said he wanted to spend more time on the bowling green.
"I think it is time to let someone else have a go," he said.
"I have really enjoyed serving on the council and I was happy to be re-elected in 2019 because you learn a lot in your first term.
"Now I want to relax and do things I enjoy because I don't know how much longer I've got."
Reid, also a second-term councillor confirmed that he would not be standing.
As the owner of a busy dental practice in Whanganui, Reid also works as a volunteer dentist for the international charities Youth with a Mission and Mercy Ships and left on a mission this week.
"I would like to share my reflections on six years as a councillor and I'll do that when I get back," he said.
Hadleigh Reid is stepping down after spending two terms as a Whanganui District councillor.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Nominations for new candidates open next Friday, July 15.
Candidates must complete an official nomination form and send it to the council's electoral officer with the names of two nominees who are over 18 years old and enrolled to vote in Whanganui.
A $200 deposit is required and may be refunded depending on election results.
