Campbell spent most in election

Invercargill's new mayor, Tom Campbell, has spent the most of any Southland mayoral candidate this election, topping the list at close to $20,000.

Figures show his spend nearly matches the combined total of seven other Invercargill hopefuls.

"I had no social media presence prior to the campaign and I knew that if I wanted to get the message across I would have to use, you know, more conventional media to do that," Mr Campbell said.

Mr Campbell's donations and expenses return shows he spent $19,516.91, with his main costs being a billboard, newspaper ads, website advertising, placards, flyers and car wraps.

He rejected donation offers and used his own money on the campaign.

"I never took it, because I didn’t need to.

"But I support anybody who does. Because any democracy, if you don’t allow people to accept donations, then only wealthy people would be able to stand."

The second-highest election spend belonged to councillor Alex Crackett, who totaled $7189.59, while councillor Ian Pottinger came in at $6400.

Councillor Ria Bond was the only mayoral candidate to declare a donation, noting $3000 had been given towards her $5277.55 campaign.

Further down the list, Andrew Clark spent $2181.84, Tom Morton $955, Stevey Chernishov $90.80 and Gordon McCrone zero.

At the Southland District Council, campaign spending was more subdued.

Mayor Rob Scott’s main expense was car signage of $970, with a total of $2644.50.

Gary Tong spent $513.50, while Wendy Baker tallied $98.41.

In Gore, mayor Ben Bell spent $6249.99 on his campaign, while Nicky Davis forked out $4335.75.

Candidates are required to declare both anonymous and individual donations of more than $1500.

An Invercargill City Council spokesperson said election return rules were set in the Local Electoral Act.

• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.