The six candidates come from all sections of life and all must think they are in for a chance. It was a wide open race to start with when incumbent mayor Gary Tong indicated he was not seeking re-election and would instead put his name forward in the race for the Invercargill mayoralty.
But he changed his mind and decided to again seek the Southland District mayoralty.
Southland District councillor Robin Scott and former Federated Farmers president Geoffrey Young have also put their hand up and will fancy their chances. The other three candidates are: Wendy Baker, Don Byars and Kirsty Anne Pickett.
Another interesting race will be in Stewart Island. Bruce Ford is moving on as the island’s representative on the council and three people are seeking to replace him. Ulrike Martina Herzhoff, Aaron Mark Joy and Jon Ross Spraggon are all seeking a seat at the council table.
The Stewart Island-Rakiura Community Board was the only community board of seven in the Southland district which came up short in not getting enough candidates for seats on the board. It had six seats but only five names were put forward. A last minute rush of nominations allayed fears about costly by-elections taking place to get numbers to sit on the boards.
Staff Reporter
