Shadbolt, Tong and Hicks to stand again
Long-time Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt will again stand for the top job at next year’s local body elections and he wants to extend his record.
He joins Southland District Mayor Gary Tong and Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks in confirming their intentions to stand for the mayoralty of their respective districts next year.
‘‘I am definitely running,’’ the 71-year-old Shadbolt said yesterday.
‘‘My fate is always in the hands of the people, they will decide who will be the next mayor of Invercargill.’’
Shadbolt was the mayor of Waitemata City for two terms, from 1983-89, before heading south and is now in his eighth term as Invercargill mayor.
He first served as the city’s mayor from 1993-95 and after a term on the outer he has served in the top job from 1998 to the current day.
‘‘I am the longest serving mayor in the history of New Zealand and I want to make sure I have got my nose well and truly in front so it will be a record I can hang onto for some time.’’
He still loved the job and was excited about the things happening in the city.
Age was not a factor, he indicated.
‘‘Of course you slow down a little bit as you get older, but I am fit and strong and really enjoying it.’’
Shadbolt, who has beaten a
host of challengers at the ballot box over the years, said he had no idea who would stand against him in 2019.
‘‘I think in all the elections, what I have said is I give Invercargill an identity, I have put it on the map and I want to keep it on the map.’’
None of the other candidates had his profile, he said.
‘‘That’s probably the greatest service I [give] to the city, is just putting it on the map.’’
‘‘The other candidates are worthy but they just don’t have a national identity.
‘‘It takes years to build that up.’’
Massey University local government expert Andy Asquith said age shouldn’t be an issue for Shadbolt when it came to standing for the mayoralty, so long as he was certain he could add value and wasn’t just picking up the mayoral salary.
‘‘From what I know he is still doing what he needs to do and people recognise him as Mr Invercargill,’’ Asquith said.
‘‘You have to ask yourself, what else is Invercargill is renowned for, with all due respect to Invercargill.’’
Shadbolt was an asset for the city, he said.
Having said that, Shadbolt also needed to be held accountable, ‘‘and I am sure he would expect that, because that keeps him on his toes’’.
Long-time city councillor Darren Ludlow, a former deputy mayor to Shadbolt, said he was not surprised Shadbolt was standing again, given he had stated his desire to keep going in the past.
Invercargill was in a unique position in that its mayor was different to any other mayor in the country. ‘‘Ours is a New Zealand icon, it’s not the same as in other cities and districts.’’
Ludlow himself has been tipped to challenge Shadbolt at some stage, but said he wasn’t even sure if he would stand as a councillor next election.
‘‘As of October next year I am not sure what I am doing.’’
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks, currently in his fifth term as the mayor, said he planned to stand for the mayoralty again next year.
Hicks said he enjoyed the job and there were challenges ahead, the biggest of which was to focus on economic and lifestyle developments in the region to attract young families.
Southland District Mayor Gary Tong, in his second term as mayor, said he would also be standing next year.
He initially planned to do two terms as mayor, but if elected would do a third to complete unfinished business.
He wanted to walk out of the role with a smile on his face.
Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan did not return calls.
‘‘I give Invercargill an identity, I have put it on the map and I want to keep it on the map.’’
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt