Weatherall holds seat by slim margin

Incumbent councillor Colin Weatherall is celebrating victory by just 43 votes, but former Stop the Stadium president Bev Butler says she might yet seek a recount.

• Elections draw a blank for some 

Final election results were released yesterday and confirmed Cr Weatherall had held 11th place in the Dunedin City Council's central ward, pipping Ms Butler by 2535 votes to 2492 and retaining his seat at the council table.

Preliminary results released on Saturday had put the margin between the pair at 57, but that dropped to 43 after 273 valid special votes were added to the count.

Another incumbent, Cr Paul Hudson, finished just one vote clear of Cr Weatherall, with 2536 votes.

A relaxed Cr Weatherall said when contacted yesterday he had been "confident" of holding his place, but could now move on.

"The stake's in the ground, the decision's out, and I can get on with the job I've been elected to do.

"There's some work to be done and I'm pleased I've got an opportunity to be part of that."

Cr Hudson there there had been "no use worrying about something you can't change", but he was pleased to have another chance to contribute.

"There's a lot to be done over the next few years."

Ms Butler said she "wasn't really expecting" the small number of special votes to help her to victory, but would take advice over the next few days before deciding whether to seek a recount.

"I have had a number of people try to encourage me to, but I'm not sure what is involved or what expense there is."

However, she was pleased with the "pretty close" result, on the back of her anti-stadium public profile, after securing just 282 votes in the 2007 election.

"I think I did pretty well really ... of course I would have liked to have got on - I wouldn't have stood otherwise.

"But, yeah, that's life," she said.

Council electoral officer Pam Jordan said final results would be formally notified in Saturday's ODT, after which Ms Butler would have three days to seek a recount.

She would also have to pay a $750 deposit before the recount could begin.

Cr Weatherall said the decision was Ms Butler's to make, but he believed electronic counting meant the result was accurate "to a very high level".

"I have every confidence in the decision that's been announced."

Yesterday's results also showed mayor-elect Dave Cull's margin over outgoing mayor Peter Chin increased slightly, by 136 votes to 8515, after special votes were included.

A complete record of who funded candidates' campaigns was expected to be available in early December, Ms Jordan said.

Candidates had 55 days after the official election result was published to send details of their campaign finances to the council, she said.