Hastings mayor to stand for National

Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule was successful in his bid to stand for the National Party
Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule was successful in his bid to stand for the National Party

Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule has been selected to stand for the National Party.

He will be up against Labour's Tukituki candidate Anna Lorck in the race for the seat this September.

In December last year Tukituki MP Craig Foss announced he would not be standing in this year's election - leaving the candidacy open for the first time since the early 2000s.

Candidates were unable to talk to the media while the selection process was underway.

It was believed Yule was up against Hastings district councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Adrienne Pierce and Hastings resident and former air force pilot David Elliott. Mr Yule said was looking forward to going down this career path.

``I am humbled by the support I've received.''

He told Hawke's Bay Today in January that if successful, he would remain working full-time as mayor until June 30, in order to fulfil a commitment he had made to resolve Hastings' water issues.

A byelection will be enforced as the mayoralty position comes up for grabs.

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union executive director Jordan Williams estimated ratepayers would pay between $90,000 to $100,000.

Mr Williams said this cost was revealed after the union asked the council for its calculation of the anticipated costs of such an election.

``While no price can be put on democracy, the figure puts into perspective the promises to not make a tilt at Parliament that Mr Yule made when seeking to be re-elected last year as mayor of Hastings,'' Mr Jordan said earlier.

``It's obvious that Mr Yule should have been upfront at the time, given the huge costs that are now likely to fall on ratepayers,'' he said.

Ratepayers could also be hit a second time with sitting councillors likely to contest the mayoralty.

This would mean a second byelection would be required to fill a council seat.

Ms Lorck said she phoned Mr Yule last night to congratulate him and said she was looking forward to a great campaign between the pair.

``This will be a hard-fought campaign and I will be playing with a straight bat, it's an exciting time for great change for Hastings and Tukituki.''

Ms Lorck said she would be looking to challenge the issues affecting people's lives. She would be campaigning hard on these issues and challenging Mr Yule and his National Party on them.

``I am representing new, aspirational leadership injecting vibrancy while standing on my proven platform of leading on local issues such as housing, health, education, water and jobs.''

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