At least two councillors will not be running in the local government elections for Clutha this year.
Cr Ron Davis, for the Balclutha ward, confirmed he would not be standing again as he had started a new job. He was unsure if he could balance work with councillor duties if he were to be elected again.
‘‘It's time-consuming and I find I run short of that,'' he said.
Cr Davis said it was an excellent council to work for.
‘‘I've enjoyed it. There's no doubt about that.''
Cr Jeff McKenzie also confirmed he would not put his name forward for the council as he was leaving the district. He had enjoyed his time at the council, he said, but had sold his farm to move closer to Dunedin.
The majority of other councillors were unable to confirm if they would run in the election.
Cr Hilary McNab said it was a possibility, ‘‘but I haven't totally committed yet''.
Cr Geoff Blackmore, who has worked for the council for 12 years, was in a similar position. He was still thinking about it.
Cr Bruce Vollweiler said he would ‘‘most probably'' run again but was not 100% sure. He has served five terms on the council.
Cr Stew Cowie confirmed he would run again this year.
‘‘I'm definitely putting my name forward for the Clutha Valley ward.''
Cr Cowie denied any suggestion he would run against Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan for the mayoralty. He wanted to continue to give back to the community as a council member, he said.
‘‘The district has been good to me and that's reward enough for me.''
Mr Cadogan confirmed he would ‘‘most definitely'' put his name forward for mayor again this year. He was not aware of any challengers for the role.
Cr Selwyn Wilkinson said discussions about who was running for the council were still active.
‘‘I probably will be [running for council],'' he said.
He had no intention of running for the mayoralty.
‘‘I've had plenty of people asking, but I won't be challenging [Mr Cadogan],'' he said.
Cr Hamish Anderson said his decision to seek
election as a councillor or mayor was pending as he had to consider his workload with responsibilities of the council.
He would have a better idea in a few months, he said.
Cr Anderson, who competed for the mayoralty in the last election, said, after deciding to run as councillor, he had not given any consideration at all to standing for the mayoralty. Crs John Cochrane, Gaynor Finch and Jo-Anne Thomson all confirmed they intended running for council again.
Crs Michele Kennedy, Ken Payne and Bruce Graham could not be reached for comment.
