Candidates urged to complete nominations before Friday

Potential candidates in October’s local body elections are being urged to complete their nominations ahead of the Friday 12 August midday deadline, with several positions uncontested as of midday today.

Council manager for District Administration, Caroline Wilson, is concerned there may be a surge in nominations as the deadline approaches. She asks potential candidates to lodge nomination forms as soon as possible and not to leave it to the last minute.

“Each nomination form must be completed in full and accurately. To avoid disappointment, I urge all candidates to allow time in case we require extra information to complete the process.”

She says that it may take a day or more for candidates to provide missing details. However, nominations must be completed in full and lodged by the midday deadline. There can be no exceptions.

As of midday Monday 8 August, the council had received 29 nominations. However, there are no candidates yet for six community board positions. Other elected roles also have fewer candidates than positions available.

The council has received six nominations for Mayor. They are:

• John Vujcich
• Kelly Stratford
• Ann Court
• Moko Tepania
• Jaqi Brown
• Joshua Riley.

All six councillor positions on the general wards have more candidates than available places. However, the new Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward has so far attracted just two candidates for four positions.

Any candidate standing for local body elections must be a New Zealand citizen and be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll. They must also be nominated by two people who are enrolled on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll in the area the candidate is standing in.

To find who is standing for election and where, go to the latest list of confirmed nominations on the council Candidate information page. The website also has information for potential candidates about elected roles on the council, who is eligible to stand for election, and nomination forms.