Mr Piercy was one of about 20 people who attended the by-election campaign launch held at the Holy Trinity Church hall on Saturday, where only seven out of 14 candidates turned up to share campaign ideas and field questions from the floor.
In days past, candidates used to be able to expect a turnout of about 60% for elections, he said.
"We would consider anything lower than that not very good. But there is an apathy today.
"I don’t know what causes an apathy. I don’t know if it’s the fact that it’s beyond people’s comprehension as to how they see local government ... or whether there’s apathy simply because they are simply not interested in their community.
"There used to be a lot more interested in the community."
He thought returning to elections being held on a designated day might help to engage more people and postal votes might be responsible for public disengagement.
"I think people just get their voting paper now and just put it away and don’t do [anything with it].
"When you had to go out on one day and vote, people voted ... because it was a special day you went out and voted."
He also thought there may not be enough "big issues to get people excited".
"Sometimes you need a big issue and people will turn out. But at the present time it’s a bit ho-hum."
But he did not agree with dropping the voting age to 16 years old to garner more voter engagement.
"I’m a grandfather and a great-grandfather and I think 16 is a bit ... I think 18 is about where I’d go," Mr Piercy said.
Candidates fielded questions on their personal views on issues ranging from Three Waters and city soup kitchens, to Invercargill’s Splash Palace changing room policy and the Mayor’s involvement in the Stop Co-Governance meeting hosted by Julian Batchelor late last month.
Meeting adjudicator the Rev Aaron Douglas said he thought the meeting was positive and respectful.
"I was surprised at the turnout on a cold Southland day. So it was good to see a lot of people turn up," he said.
"I was heartened by the quality of the questions to the candidates as well."
There were clear difference of opinions, but everyone was respectful of each other."
He believed there were some candidates that stood out more than others as they appeared to have a good understanding of their community.
"That is always going to be the case in any election," Mr Douglas said.
A further 10 meetings will be held around Invercargill venues before voting opens on July 13. Voting closes on August 4.
— Toni McDonald
