By-election becomes a race
The Horizons Regional Council by-election is officially a race, with a serial unsuccessful campaigner the second to put his name in the hat.
Grant Seton will join former Palmerston North mayor and National MP Jono Naylor in the race and they may well soon be joined by another high-profile candidate.
The council is about to hold a by-election in the Palmerston North ward to replace Pat Kelly, who died on Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
One-term MP Naylor signalled his intention to stand before nominations opened, and was the first to get his nomination in.
A second nomination was listed on Horizons’ website on Wednesday afternoon – Seton.
Seton was unable to talk to Stuff yesterday, but is a regular on the campaign trail.
He ran for Palmerston North City Council in 2007, then for the
city’s seat in Parliament in 2008, before switching to the Rangitıkei electorate in 2011.
He also put his hand up for the Palmerston North mayoralty in 2010 and 2013 both times losing to Naylor and for the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board in 2016.
He is yet to win a seat on any public body.
He courted controversy during his 2010 campaign when he refused to shake some candidates’ hands.
He was at a go-kart race for all mayoral candidates when he refused to shake the hands of Naylor and Arshad Chatha.
At the time, he said he thought Naylor didn’t get to the nub of problems and led the city council into greater debt.
He did not shake Chatha’s hand because he had convictions for fraud.
He later shook Naylor’s hand,
He [Seton] courted controversy during his 2010 campaign when he refused to shake some candidates’ hands.
and had no problem shaking the hands of other people running – Mark Bell-booth, Russell Johnson, and Leighton Haar, also known as The Naked Pie Man.
Stuff is aware of at least one other candidate intending to stand in the Horizons by-election, but their candidacy has not yet been officially confirmed. Nominations close at noon on July 26.