Barclay replacements emerge
Three contenders have so far emerged to replace embattled Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay, including the man who tried to dislodge him last year.
Three contenders have so far emerged to replace embattled Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay, including the man who tried to dislodge him last year.
Simon Flood, a former Merrill Lynch banker from Queenstown, is understood to be considering another tilt at the National party candidacy for the electorate.
Flood challenged Barclay for the position last year – a rare move against an incumbent in a safe National seat – and is believed to have strong support outside the party’s membership.
Barclay won that battle but is now stepping aside at the election amid allegations he covertly recorded a staffer in his Gore office, who later resigned and was paid a settlement in part from former Prime Minister John Key’s leader’s budget.
Police initially cleared Barclay of wrongdoing but have reopened their investigation.
Flood did not return calls for com- ment. If he did join the race, he would be up against Hamish Walker, who impressed in the Labour stronghold of Dunedin South in the 2014 election.
Walker said yesterday that he had been approached about running in Clutha-Southland. His campaign experience was seen as an asset with little time to select a replacement before the election on September 23.
‘‘On that basis, I’ve decided I will put my name forward in the belief and determination for this part of the world to succeed,’’ he said.
Walker previously ran a property management company in Auckland before returning home to the mainland.
He is an Otago Rugby board member and serves on the Otago/Southland lottery distribution committee.
Gore district councillor Nicky Davis confirmed she too had been approached. She was a nominee when Barclay won the National candidacy in 2014 and said she was considering running again.
‘‘I’m weighing up my options ... that’s all I’ll say for now.’’