Jones, who failed to beat Cotter for the Innes Ward by eight votes in 2022, will contest the ward again in October’s hotly contested local body elections.
So far, Heathcote Ward councillor Sara Templeton has announced she will stand against Mayor Phil Mauger, while high profile residents’ association campaigner Tony Simons is challenging incumbent Tyla Harrison-Hunt in the Riccarton Ward.
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Rates increases and whether to sell or partially sell ratepayer-owned assets like Lyttelton Port Company and Orion will again be major election issues.
Running as an independent, Jones, a public relations consultant, said she would bring “lots of energy, experience and passion” to the role.
Like Simons, Jones wants to see rates cut and took aim at current councillors saying they have “absolutely” not done enough to cut rates.
One example highlighted by Jones was the Botanic Gardens science centre which was allocated $277,000 by the council for its development in this financial year.
“We have spent over a quarter-million dollars on a Botanic Gardens science centre. Do we actually need that right now and can council actually afford to be spending on projects like that?”
First elected to council in 2013 in the Shirley-Papanui Ward, Jones decided to not run for re-election to focus on caring for children and a terminally ill mother.
Since a 2023 by-election, she has sat on the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board.
In 2022, Jones was granted a recount of the Innes Ward vote which closed the margin of her defeat by Cotter from 16 to eight votes.
Cotter has been a city councillor since 2013 and plans to stand again under the centre-left political ticket The People’s Choice banner pending selection.
She said cutting rates is harder than it looks.
“It’s an easy to stand and yell out that I’m going to do this, I’m going to give you that. Once you get around the table, those things are not easy,” Cotter said.
While Jones describes herself as a “centrist”, she would prefer working with Mauger as mayor but would work with Templeton “through gritted teeth”.
“ Sure you have to be professional and work with people, but this kind of smile and wave carry-on is just, again, nonsense,” Jones said about Templeton.
On the opposite side, Cotter who has been Mauger’s deputy, said she would be happy to work with either.
“I think to be a good effective politician you have to be able to work with anybody. . . and I think that has been one of my strengths,” Cotter said.
Jones is aware asset sales will also be a key issue during the election.
She was neither for nor against selling assets but said it was wrong for the city council to have abandoned a business case by Christchurch City Holdings Ltd in 2023.
“ When you’ve got the opportunity to have a look at something like that, and it doesn’t even get ticked off to be looked at, then you have to ask what the hell’s going on,” Jones said.
Cotter said she has always been clear about retaining strategic assets and is against the sale of assets for short-term gains.
Jones said if elected she would bring a view of “common sense” to the city council.
She said the city council’s delegation and procurement policies needed to be rewritten to allow councillors to trust staff to make decisions and keep projects moving.
“ Do staff have enough resources to be able to do what they need to do? That needs to be looked at.”
Jones believes being an independent candidate is where she differs from Cotter.
“No one pulls my strings. I think that a focus on rates is something we also haven’t had around the whole council table.”
Cotter said People’s Choice does not pull her strings.
“People’s Choice is values-based and we all share the same values.”
