Sophia Leon de la Barra and incumbent councillor Kevin Malcolm will contest the single seat available in the Moeraki Constituency.
"ORC has historically given the Moeraki constituency the short end of the stick when it comes to both local and regional bus services however we have made significant gains to the Palmerston daily service over the past few years and our transport team are working hard on an option for our Oamaru-Dunedin connection," Mr Malcolm said.
"I’m really confident that this will happen soon.
"ORC has made significant progress in environmental work throughout our district.
"River management plans are being activated to ensure we undertake long overdue maintenance to river corridors and protect the integrity of river flow and the ecosystems.
"At almost every key policy development and implementation, under my insistence ORC has used Waitaki residents as a key touchstone, for example; Freshwater farm plans, intensive winter grazing and Land and Water Regional Plan.
"I will continue to drive support for our sensational catchment groups, encourage the trust of Enviroschools and promote Ecofund and large-scale initiatives in our area.
"What we do need to ensure is that our activities are achieving the regulatory outcomes required, the aim of our community and represents value for money.
"Every decision I make around the table is, as per my sworn duty, to do the best for the whole of Otago but I will always ensure that a Waitaki lens is all over that decision."
Miss Leon de la Barra said, if elected, her number 1 plan would be to deliver on the public bus services that are outlined in ORC’s Long Term Plan.
"We need public buses around town and to Dunedin. In the Waitaki Senior Surveys collected by Safer Waitaki in 2017 and 2022, our elders advised us of their needs for better buses, especially to specialist appointments in Dunedin Hospital. It’s time to respect our elders by listening and giving them what they need.
"I have governance experience with local charities and will ensure that decision making is transparent and accountable. There is no-one like a feisty ginger to get things done."
With changes to the numbers of councillors in Dunedin and Dunstan wards and STV voting across the whole region, the 2025 Otago Regional Council elections will be a little different and regional council chief executive Richard Saunders is encouraging people to do their research, find out who is standing and what they stand for.
Single Transferable Vote or STV this year, will allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
While STV allows voters to number their preferred choices, it is not mandatary to rank all candidates. It is OK to only rank one choice should voters wish and leave others blank.
View all candidate profiles and find out who is in the running here: https://www.orc.govt.nz/candidates
