Last week, a meeting was held at the Gore District Council between potential candidates and members of various councils around Southland.
A similar event ran in the last election cycle, in 2022.
The meeting was helmed by electoral officials, managers, and elected officials from 5.30pm with questions being fielded throughout.
Officials from Environment Southland, the Southland District Council and the Gore District Council informed the potential candidates what their particular roles and areas of work were.
Gore deputy mayor and councillor Keith Hovell also gave an insight into his dealings as an elected official, with workload and communication being key.
He said to take an extra 10 minutes for any trip out and about because a part of the job was chatting to the people of the district.
New councillors could expect their workload to grow many hours during the week, but it was important to balance obligations, Cr Hovell Said.
The meeting was attended by members of the public, as well as two people who had already said they were standing in the election.
Torrone Smith would be running for a council position, with Mel Cupit putting her hat in the ring for the Gore ward.
Two weeks into the nomination process, four others have put forth nominations, with Cr Andy Fraser, Cr Stewart MacDonell and Cr Paul McPhail looking to return to their seats.
Mataura Community Board chair Nicky Coats had also started her campaign, running for the Mataura ward.
Although the council suggested it was not out of the ordinary to have so few nominations this far into the race, it suggested people get in sooner rather than later.
"People traditionally leave their nominations to the last minute — this year is no exception.
"To avoid disappointment, the council encourages anyone considering becoming an elected member to get their nominations in early."
