After 27 years wearing the Invercargill mayoral chains, Sir Tim Shadbolt was unsuccessful in his bid for the mayoralty of Invercargill as well for a council seat.
Speaking to the media this afternoon, he said he was surprised with the results.
“I am absolutely stunned. I never expected such a change… This [to not be elected to council] was an even bigger shock for me. I thought - well, I probably would not get in as mayor but I was really positive getting in as a councillor."
Progress results delivered to Invercargill City Council just after midday today show Nobby Clark has 6537 votes, followed by Marcus Lush with 3785 votes.
Toni Biddle, Ria Bond, Steve Chernishov, Darren Ludlow, Tom Morton, Noel Peterson and Jacqueline Walter also were vying for the top role at the council.
Sir Tim said he felt really proud of everything the city achieved over those years and among the highlights were the overseas travels to promote the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) for international students as well the encounter with Sir Anthony Hopkins while he was filming The World's Fastest Indian.
He would like to leave a legacy of politics with humour, he said.
“It certainly has been a long journey. I have no regrets. I followed out the tradition bowing out gracefully and I look forward to be involved as an extraordinary citizen of Invercargill."
He would be following the council closely in the next three years, as he said it would be interesting to see how things panned out.
Sir Tim believed the election’s results had not brought the radical change that people were expecting.
"It seems that I have personally borne the brunt of the last three years of angst on Council."
As he truly believed he would be elected as a councillor, Sir Tim did not know what would be his next steps.
While he said it would be hard to do another Dancing with the Stars, in which he competed in in 2005, he was keen to get further involved in the entertainment industry.
When asked if he had ruled out standing again, he replied:
“Oh no! This is just the beginning," he laughed.
Progress results delivered to Invercargill City Council today showed sitting councillors Nigel Skelt, Darren Ludlow, Ian Pottinger and Allan Arnold would remain on council. They will be joined by new councillors Tom Campbell and Grant Dermody.
Earlier, it was announced that Nobby Clark was elected as mayor with 6537 of the votes according to the progress results. He was followed by Marcus Lush with 3785 votes.
Progress results include all votes cast up to late Friday, however, it does not include votes cast late on Friday, Saturday or special votes.
Invercargill City Council Deputy Electoral Officer and Manager Governance and Legal Michael Morris said with 2104 ordinary votes and a number of special votes still to be counted, some candidates were too close to call at this stage.
Those candidates are Ria Bond, Trish Boyle, Lesley Soper, Peter Kett, Alex Crackett, Graham Lewis, Barry Stewart, Terry King, Kerry Hapuku, Rebecca Amundsen, Lisa Tou-McNaughton and Rick Murrell.
Sir Tim will not be returned as Mayor or Councillor.
Preliminary results are expected on Sunday morning and will include 2104 votes that were cast late on Friday and on Saturday, but not special votes.
"Our preliminary results should provide a clearer picture but it’s likely it won’t be confirmed until our final results are provided in the coming days, after special votes have been counted."
The Bluff Community Board results show, at this stage, that the members Tammi Topi and Ray Fife will be returned, and joined by new members Justin Sutherland, Terina Stockwell and Sam Graham. These results are subject to change after further votes are counted.
The Invercargill Licensing Trust results are also subject to change after further votes are counted.
Morris said he was pleased with the turnout and the interest the community had in this election.
"We have a passionate and vocal community who were also motivated to cast their vote and help guide the city through the next three years," he said.
