Waitaki deputy mayor Jim Hopkins was not planning to stand for the Waitaki mayoralty this election because he believed he had to show loyalty to the incumbent, Alex Familton, who planned to seek re-election. But Mr Familton changed his mind, and Mr Hopkins entered the race.
Why are you standing for mayor?
''Because we need to keep doing what we've been doing - holding costs and boosting growth. Both are essential, never more so than now. Every election's important but, with Alex retiring, this one's particularly important. In the six years he's been mayor, the council worked hard to keep a lid on costs and still backed good ideas like the new retirement village, Alps 2 Ocean and Oamaru Business Park. They give us a good base to build on and that's what I want to do. Making it happen means the next mayor will need to have experience, understanding of the law and the ability to deliver. I believe I do.''
Will you be a full-time mayor and why?
''Yes, because you can't properly serve as a mayor any other way. And it isn't a normal 9-to-5, Monday to Friday full-time role, either. The community calls the shots, not the clock. So it's a daytime, nighttime, weekday and weekend role. Or roles plural, in fact, because mayors do carry out a range of duties, many of them inside their district but some outside it too, because an effective mayor must aim to be a good ambassador and strong advocate for their area. Basically, you do what you're asked to do whenever you're asked to do it. That's what it means to be mayor.''
What position do you think the district is in?
''Right now, the district's in a good position. Some new developments mentioned earlier - like Alps 2 Ocean and the retirement village - are already encouraging more development or will do so in future. Irrigation has transformed farming and NOIC is a national leader with its moves to reduce or prevent water pollution. And having Seven Sharp choose Oamaru as `New Zealand's Sharpest Town' is gold for us. It means we've got a year to promote the whole district as a great place to visit and move to. Doing that well will help us turn around some of those longer-term population predictions I mentioned in response to an earlier question.''
What are the three issues facing the incoming council and why?
''One major issue will be the Government's new earthquake prone building legislation, due out in November. We'll need to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't destroy old Oamaru and other historic towns like it. We're working with other councils on this because it's so important. The same goes for the NZ Transport Agency's funding assistance review that's now under way. This will decide how much support NZTA gives for urban and rural roads. Rural roads are New Zealand's export lifelines and provincial councils must join together to have any chance of getting more cash. And work will need to start on next year's annual plan before Christmas, too.''
What would be the one thing you would like to have achieved by the end of your term and why?
''The ultimate goal would be to have found - and started to use - significant alternative sources of income that would allow us to hold rates at a set level, rather than increase them yearly as happens now, and maybe even reduce them. That would solve our biggest problem and offer permanent relief for ratepayers. It's a hard ask but the benefits are absolutely worth pushing for. Along the way, it would be great to have more shared services with other councils to deliver savings, and also convinced the Government keeping the heartland healthy is vital for the whole country and begun to build an effective partnership to make that happen.''
