Waitaki
Former professional hunter and paratrooper Guy Percival is taking a shot at becoming the next Waitaki mayor.
The Five Forks resident has served four terms on the Waitaki District Council representing the rural Corriedale ward and feels the time is right to go for the mayoral role, he said.
"I’ve had a diverse career — musterer, meat hunter-farmer, professional hunter [in Africa], Selous Scouts [Special Forces] paratrooper in Rhodesia [Zimbabwe], coffee-grower and exporter in Papua New Guinea, corporate auditor, registered-drainlayer, father and more.
"Somewhere along the way I lost my ego, so that doesn’t need nurturing. What really matters is our district’s future. I’m passionate about looking after our communities and fighting for what’s best for the Waitaki.
"The last few mayors have been effective in their own way. However, if you want different, hang-on-to-your-hats, the idea that the mayor is a lone community and council leader is past its use-by date.
"My MO is communication, co-operation, consensus and clear direction. I am keen to stick to our knitting — no fancy stuff outside of our mandate and means. My main drivers are to keep money in people’s pockets and preserve property rights for both urban and rural ratepayers.
"[The] council has many staff that are second to none, especially those on the front line. With the support of elected members, we can work together to balance the funding of our amenities so that the future impact of ongoing projects on rates is affordable and acceptable levels of service are maintained.
"I know how the council works, what we can do, what we can’t do and how to make every dollar count.
"Council is not here to hand out ratepayers’ money willy-nilly."
He joins former Waitaki district councillor Mel Tavendale and Oamaru heritage stalwart David Wilson in the mayoral race.
Gore
A new candidate for the mayoral position in Gore says nothing is off the table when it comes to saving ratepayer money.
Nicky Davis has worked in the council space for 21 years, as both the head of operations and as an elected councillor.
Despite stepping away during the last election cycle, Mrs Davis said it was the community who called her back to public office.
"The amount of people I’ve had approach me, I get the sense they want change. There’s a feeling council has lost direction,"
Mrs Davis promises a new direction for the district council with increased financial scrutiny,
"I want ratepayers to be top of my mind in every decision made, so I’m going to take a very fresh look at every council expenditure.
"Nothing’s off the table. If we’ve got to cut, we’ve got to cut. There will be changes,"
Mrs Davis said she could not name any specific areas she planned to trim and save in, but her time in council was defined by financial scrutiny.
"I was always questioning where we were spending our money, making the other councillors aware if I didn’t agree with something.
"This is what I want to bring back to council. They need to consider ratepayers in everything they do,"
No policy changes or specifics were mentioned, as Mrs Davis will be saving those moves if she is successful in attaining the big seat.
The new challenger says a good shakeup would be the key to getting Gore back to the green in terms of finances.
"Everything needs a review. There’s certain things we’re paying for that I believe we probably don’t need to be.
"I need a mandate. So if the people of Gore want a change, they need to vote for me."
