‘God’ in running for regional council seat
Five people will run in the Horizons Regional Council byelection, including a selfproclaimed God and a former district council chief executive.
Nominations for the byelection, to fill the seat Pat Kelly vacated when he died on Queen’s Birthday weekend, closed at noon yesterday.
Serial candidate Grant Seton, former Palmerston North mayor and MP Jono Naylor, and former Palmerston North city councillor Chris Teo-sherrell had already put their names in.
The final two nominations are Ross Barber and Jack Dowds.
Barber, who has criminal convictions for assaulting children, has stood for various council roles as leader of a group dubbed ‘‘Team God’’. He infamously claimed to be God while running for the Palmerston North mayoralty chains in 2016.
He has said he wants to amalgamate Horizons, Palmerston North city and Manawatu¯ district councils, which he would then run on a voluntary basis.
Dowds was the chief executive of South Wairarapa District Council from 2008 until 2013, and also spent time as the head of Massey University’s School of Accountancy. He now lives in Palmerston North.
He said his experience in South Wairarapa, combined with his business management skills, would put him in a good place to ensure rates were managed well.
The Horizons area and South Wairarapa shared many of the same environmental issues, such as sediment runoff and nutrients leaching into rivers from farmland, he said.
‘‘I would like to play a part in making sure we take good care of our environment.’’
Horizons electoral officer Craig Grant said the public could meet the candidates at the Palmerston North Convention Centre at 5.30pm on August 14.
Voting papers will be delivered from August 30. Voting closes at noon on September 21.