Mayor hedging his bets

Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich has hedged his bets — seeking a seat at the city council table in case he does not win the mayoralty race.

Mr Radich said he had unfinished business, such as making sure South Dunedin had better protection from flooding.

He would preferably be at the head of the table of 15 to see such work through.

Cr Steve Walker was one person who said on social media the mayor was showing a lack of confidence in his record.

However, Mr Radich described himself as a lifetime team sports player who chalked up wins.

"One never goes into a sports competition with the arrogance that one is going to win as of right," he said.

Mr Radich opting to stand for council was one key development on the eve of nominations closing yesterday.

Another was Cr Marie Laufiso adding her name to the list of city councillors challenging Mr Radich for the mayoralty.

The number of confirmed nominees for the Dunedin mayoralty stood at 16, including five councillors.

Dunedin City Council deputy electoral officer Robyn Dillon said yesterday last-minute applications were still being checked, but more than 55 people had put their names forward to be councillors.

Long-serving city councillor David Benson-Pope and a series of community board members had decided not to seek re-election.

Strath Taieri Community Board chairman Barry Williams — who was censured for a racial slur last term — said he had decided not to stand.

Elections will be needed for all of Dunedin’s community boards after a rush of nominations in the past week.

City council chief executive Sandy Graham said she was delighted to see a high level of engagement and participation in the democratic process.

"Our role is to encourage candidacy, so it’s wonderful to have so many people stepping up and standing for election across Ōtepoti Dunedin."

The flow of nominations in local body elections across the South seemed to be patchy.

Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers faces a challenge from five people seeking the job.

Eight people put their names forward to succeed Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark, who has decided not to stand for re-election.

The Clutha district mayoralty is to be contested by Jock Martin and Ken Payne after long-serving incumbent Bryan Cadogan stepped aside.

Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley faces two challengers — Mark Quinn and Charlie Sanders.

Gore District Mayor Ben Bell has just one challenger for the job — Nicky Davis.

Former Southland district mayor Gary Tong wants his old job back, looking to unseat incumbent Rob Scott and head off Wendy Joy Baker.

Mr Tong finished third in a narrow defeat in 2022.

Four candidates will seek the Waitaki district mayoralty after incumbent Gary Kircher decided not to seek another term.

The Otago Regional Council’s four constituencies will all require elections after 23 people were nominated for the 12 seats around the council table.

This year is the first when councillors will be elected through the single-transferable vote (STV) system.

Dunedin’s five seats on the regional council are being sought by 10 candidates.

The Molyneux ward has four candidates for two seats.

Moeraki, which was uncontested last election, has two candidates vying for one position.

The expanded Dunstan constituency — now four seats — has attracted seven candidates. The Dunedin City Council also uses the STV system, in which voters can rank candidates in order of preference.

For Environment Southland, it appears a series of candidates have been elected unopposed.

As things stood last night, there were 18 nominees for 12 seats around the council table, but several wards did not have enough candidates to force a contest.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz