Candidates ready to rumble
Nelson and Tasman voters will have plenty of mayoral and council candidates to chose from in October’s local body elections.
Nominations closed on Friday. In Nelson, 31 people have put their names forward for just 12 vacancies, while six men are challenging Rachel Reese for the mayor’s seat.
There will be at least four new faces at the Nelson City Council table this year, with Luke Acland, Paul Matheson and Stuart Walker not standing again.
Councillor Bill Dahlberg is running only for mayor. Joining him in the mayoral race are Reese, Mike Ward, John Wakelin, Avner Nahmias, and councillors Mel Courtney and Tim Skinner.
The council nominations include sitting councillors Courtney, Skinner, Ian Barker, Kate Fulton, Matt Lawrey, Brian McGurk, Gaile Noonan and Mike Rutledge, as well as Ward, Yvonne Bowater, Trudie Brand, Allen Chambers, Dennis Christian, Alastair Cotterill, Glen Daikee, Sunny Daly-Keenan, Judene Edgar, Bernie Goldsmith, Owen J Houliston, Robbie Kavanagh, Luke King, Stephen Lindup, Dai Mitchell, Harry (Howard) Morris, Graeme O’Brien, Rohan O’Neill-Stevens, Pete Rainey, Campbell Rollo, Rachel Sanson, Anjela Sharma and Virat Vij.
More people are standing for the Tasman District Council than at the last election.
In 2016, three areas did not require voting because the nominations equalled the number of seats, but this year only one ward doesn’t need to go to the polls – Lakes-Murchison. Stuart Bryant can comfortably take his seat again for a second election.
The Moutere-Waimea Ward has the most candidates, 10, with women making up half the list. Most of the potential councillors in Tasman are men, but the Golden Bay Ward is also bucking the trend, with three of its six candidates being women.
A new mayor is on the cards as four hopefuls throw their hat in the ring – deputy mayor Tim King, Maxwell Clark, Brent Maru and Dean McNamara.
Richard Kempthorne chose not to seek re-election, telling Stuff earlier this year that ‘‘it’s time for someone else to pick up the baton’’.
The Richmond Ward has four vacancies. Nominees are sitting councillors Mark Greening, Kit Maling, Trevor Tuffnell and Dana Wensley, plus Clark, Stan Holland, Peter Lynch, Gary Watson and Maurice White.
Chasing Moutere-Waimea’s three vacancies are councillors McNamara and Anne Turley, as well as Jennifer Beatson, Julian Eggers, Don Everitt, Richard Johns, Christeen Mackenzie, Julie Nevin, Elisabeth Siegmund and Hayden Stevenson.
The Motueka Ward has three vacancies. Nominees are Councillor David Ogilvie, and Paul Dixon-Didier, Barry Dowler, Claire Hutt, Trevor Norriss and Trindi Walker. The nominees for Golden Bay’s two vacancies are councillors Sue Brown and Paul Sangster, plus Kaya Blown, Celia Butler, Chris Hill and Reg Turner.
David Armstrong, Richard Horrell, Brent Maru, Charmaine Petereit, Jon Taylor, Joni Tomsett and Trindi Walker will contest the four vacancies on the Motueka Community Board, while Wendy Andrews, Dave Gowland, Averill Grant, Robert Hewison, Grant Knowles and Abbie Langford will contest the four vacancies on the Golden Bay Community Board.
Voting papers will be sent out from September 20 and must be returned by October 12.