Nelson mayoralty contest heats up
Nelson city councillor Mel Courtney has declared his intention to run for mayor this election.
The local body elections will be held this October, and many councillors have decided to put their hat in the ring for re-election. Courtney was the only councillor prepared to say if he was running for the role of mayor.
Incumbent mayor Rachel Reese has not yet declared her intentions. She said she was ‘‘still thoroughly enjoying the role’’, but was not prepared to say if she was going to run again.
‘‘I’ve had lots of positive feedback over the last month, and will announce my intentions in due course,’’ she said.
Cr Tim Skinner said he was standing for council again, and was ‘‘seriously considering’’ running for mayor.
‘‘I haven’t ruled it out. I’m seriously considering it, and I’m always keen to take on more of a challenge, but at the moment I’m waiting to see things like who’s standing and what the public want.’’
Former councillor Pete Rainey, who has run for mayor in the past, said it was too early to say if he would run again, but he was ‘‘certainly considering’’ running for the council.
Courtney said the Nelson City Council had room for improvement, in particular with regard to keeping costs and therefore rates down.
‘‘We can do better, and we must do better, and we will do better.’’
He said he was planning on being an ‘‘active’’ mayor, saying he wanted to keep rates down and have an ‘‘inclusive’’ council that ‘‘takes the community with us’’.
‘‘I’d be delighted to step forward if the people want it.’’
He would also aim to have the top of Trafalgar St made pedestrian-only year-round, after successful closures over summer, beginning in 2017.
Courtney will be a familiar face to many, having been the Nelson MP for Labour from 1976 to 1981. During that time he also served as a Nelson city Councillor, with two terms under mayor Roy McLennan in the 1970s, and one under mayor Peter Malone in the 1980s.
The majority of current councillors have also indicated their intention to stand for a seat on the council again.
However, Cr Stuart Walker said he would not be running again, as his wife had a health issue which he would be focusing on.
Crs Ian Barker, Paul Matheson and Gaile Noonan said it was too early for them to make the call.
Cr Bill Dahlberg said he was enjoying being on the council, but was waiting until closer to the deadline to make up his mind whether to run again.
‘‘I’m just concentrating on getting through to July and seeing where we are there, and then deciding,’’ he said.
‘‘At the moment, I’m really enjoying it . . . sometimes it can be a bit negative, and I can deal with that, but I need to see results.’’
Crs Luke Acland, Kate Fulton, Matt Lawrey, Brian McGurk and Mike Rutledge said they would be standing for re-election as councillors, joining Courtney, who also intends to stand for a seat on the council.
Rutledge said he had learned a lot during his first term as councillor, and he would be ‘‘even better placed to serve the people of Nelson’’ with that experience.
‘‘If re-elected, I will continue to deploy my skills as a strategic, practical thinker, particularly in the transport, infrastructure and environmental spaces,’’ he said.
Lawrey said he had ‘‘plenty of people’’ encouraging him to make a run again.
‘‘Despite my frustration at a lack of progress in recent years, I do think I make a difference on council,’’ he said.
‘‘One of the issues I’ll be campaigning on is the need for peak-hour clearways on our arterial routes.’’
Fulton said she was excited to continue working on climate change and social justice issues.
‘‘When I tried to get climate change on to Annual Plans in the past, we were lucky to get a sentence, so getting five pages [in this year’s Annual Plan] shows a real change,’’ she said.
‘‘I feel like there’s still so much work to be done.’’