Should I stay or should I go now?
That is the question that most mayors in the Otago-Southland region have already answered one year out from next year’s local body elections.
Of the eight mayors in office, three are going, three will seek re-election and two are still contemplating.
Jules Radich has already announced his decision to stand again in Dunedin, while Cadogan brothers, Bryan in Clutha district is stepping down for health reasons and Tim is relocating to Wellington for a new role.
In Invercargill, Nobby Clark has decided it is time to move on. All are agreed it is a decision not taken lightly.
‘Job very demanding time-wise’
Invercargill
BY LUISA GIRAO
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark’s cellphone has a countdown app showing how many days until the end of his term.
He said he would be pleased today when it hit 365 days.
The outspoken mayor guaranteed this would be his one and only term as he would not seek re-election.
"I got talked into doing a term as mayor because I thought there were some unresolved issues [at the council].
"I was prepared to put another three years in, but my partner Karen [Carter] has been retired for at least five years now and she sits at home, so that’s not a good look - this job is very demanding, time-wise."
While he would be farewelling the position in the next year, there was still time to do things, he said.
Among them were the completion of project 1225 - the construction of the new Southland museum by December next year — the development of Wachner Pl and the waste management consents for Bluff and Clifton.
"We have some pressure on for some outcomes that, by my standards, are unaffordable for ratepayers and therefore I need to be at the front end of that debate to make sure that we always have one eye on any potential debt or rate increases.
"We’ve got to have affordability there, otherwise many people in our community will struggle."
He also wanted to start the conversations on a new location for the art gallery, as it was decided not to include it as part of the city’s new museum.
While he would not throw his hat in at the next mayoral race, he believed some of his fellow councillors would.
The Otago Daily Times understands deputy mayor Tom Campbell and Crs Ria Bond and Ian Pottinger are among the potential contenders.
Last local body election, there were 10 candidates in the race.
Councillors to decide who'll fill
mayoral spot until election
Alexandra
BY JULIE ASHER
Central Otago will have a new mayor at the end of this month but the public will not be getting a say in who it is.
Incumbent Tim Cadogan announced two weeks ago he would vacate the role on October 26, with just under a year left of his third term, and move to Wellington to take up a role at water services authority Taumata Arowai
As his resignation came less than a year from the next local body elections there will not be a by-election. Instead at the next scheduled Central Otago District Council meeting on October 30 councillors will select one of themselves to lead the council until next year’s elections.
None of the councillors have said publicly they intend to seek the position but several said they would wait until the meeting to declare their hand.
Approaches to councillors and community board members about standing for mayor at the next election did not reveal any firm candidates.
Deputy mayor Neil Gillespie, who will fill the role between October 27 and 30, said he already had a full-time job so could not imagine taking it on.
Councillor and Vincent Community Board chairwoman Tamah Alley is chairwoman of Local Government New Zealand zone 6, the only zone chairperson who is not a mayor or deputy mayor.
Zone 6 covers all councils from Waitaki south: the Dunedin and Invercargill City Councils, the Queenstown Lakes, Southland, Waitaki, Clutha, Gore and Central Otago District Councils, the Otago Regional Council and Environment Southland.
Mrs Alley said Central Otago was in a relatively unique position right now.
"I’m sure some people will be happy to share their plans for next year (or not; it’s still a long way off) after we have made our decision about the mayor on the 30th."
Fellow Vincent ward councillor Tracy Paterson said with a year to go until the elections she was still considering her options.
Cromwell ward councillor Sarah Browne said that she would never say never but wanted to see who took the role for the next year.
Cromwell Community Board member Wally Sanford said his current role was a tax on his annual leave as it was.
A day job, a mortgage and two young children meant any mayoral ambitions were off the table for him at present.
There were plenty of capable people in Cromwell to fill the top job but it had to fit with their life stages and careers, he said.
Mayor keen to serve another term
Queenstown
BY MARJORIE COOK
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Glyn Lewers has confirmed he intends to stand for re-election in 2025, saying he wants to get traction on some of the things set out in this year’s 10-year plan.
He is also keen to see the Queenstown Lakes District Council secure a regional deal next year with central government to assist economic growth and infrastructure.
Earlier this year, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown launched a framework to establish regional deals between central and local government to drive economic growth and deliver infrastructure.
The government intends to invite up to five regions to provide "straightforward, basic proposals" to be considered before the first regional deal is struck next year.
"I’ve always made it clear my intention has been to do two terms. Three years is not quite enough. It is pretty short," Mr Lewers said.
"There are a few issues we would like to front foot and the council certainly is talking about how we engaged with central government with the discussions with regional deals. If we are one of the five that get the invite we will certainly put our best foot forward and hopefully be negotiating with the government later on next year," he said.
Mr Lewers said he and the councillors were taking a "deep breath" after recently signing off the long-term plan for $2.4 billion in capital investment to 2034.
"That really took up a lot of resource - you can’t just rustle up a $2.4b capital programme. That was 15 months of hard work."
Engagement in the Upper Clutha-Wanaka ward about what the community wanted for its airport was on his list of things to do early next year.
Another priority was to push ahead with this week’s Wanaka Community Board recommendation the council progress the development of the Ballantyne Rd sports field proposal.
It had been "a pretty tough 18 months or so with the change of government and a 180-degree turn from the previous direction".
The economic environment, bad weather events and last year’s outbreak of cryptosporium in Queenstown also created challenges, he said.
"I think a fair bit of kudos has to go to the councillors. There is no way two ways about it. It has been a bit of grind over this last year," Mr Lewers said.
‘It’s been a ride ... but it’s been a good one’
Southland
BY TONI MCDONALD
Southland District Mayor Rob Scott’s first term has been a whirlwind of busyness.
"It’s been a ride... but it’s been a good one," he said.
He had been so head down focusing on work he had not thought about the 2025 election, he said, but confirmed he would be standing again.
"I’m so enveloped in the job. The passion that I had at the start of this has got even stronger, so I’m definitely keen to carry one."
He believed four-year election cycles would be more practical.
"You spend the first year getting the grips of everything and getting the team built up and you spend the next 18 months on the long-term plan and then it’s election time again."
The past two years had presented some challenges, he said.
"The role itself is challenging. The Bluecliffs state of emergency was kind of defining."
Former Gore mayor Tracy Hicks said to him, in his 20 years of leading the Gore council, he never had to deal with a state of emergency.
"I’ve done two in my first two [years]".
The most difficult part was balancing competing priorities.
"Trying not to let one thing suffer for something else."
But he had found the way the council had gelled as a team the most satisfying, which customer satisfaction surveys had reflected as well.
"We’ve got a really good team of elected members."
"There’s been quite a good positive transformation of council’s perception in the community."
His most proud moment was difficult to define because there were many achievements to choose from.
But among them would be the traction achieved in turning the Te Anau-Manapouri Airport from a liability to a sustainable asset.
"That’s certainly one that I would flag as a success in terms of grabbing the bull by the horns on a project and working with really good people — working with Great South, working with the community board chair and the community board and the community as well around getting a solution there."
‘A mayor has to be careful not to
outstay their time’
Waitaki
BY BRENDON MCMAHON
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher, is keeping his cards close to his chest.
A year out from the 2025 local elections, and just shy of the 23rd anniversary of his first election as a Waitaki district councillor, Mr Kircher, 61, is realistic.
"A mayor has to be careful not to outstay their time."
But a rocky six years for local government - impacted mainly by Covid-19 and its economic upheaval - and yet another round of legislative reform was keeping his decision at bay.
"My personal process has normally been I make the call about a year out from the election.
"This time, it’s a bit different," he said yesterday.
"It’s obviously been a bit difficult in the last six years."
A four-year term?
"Absolutely for it," he replies.
But his musing perhaps belies his intentions: "I’m not expecting to ever benefit from it".
With certainty, there was a competent candidate to take his place among the current council.
At the same time half the current crop of Waitaki councillors were still cutting their teeth, Mr Kircher said. Others would be retiring.
"I’ve given myself a bit more time.
"I don’t want to run the risk of being one of those mayors wanting to finish particular projects - it’s broader than that.
"There’s some things under way at the moment that will determine how the council will be set up for the future."
Specifically, he wanted to shepherd through the key aspects of his council’s "transformation" programme in the next year while anticipating law changes which might change up the current rates funding dilemma.
Waitaki’s "transformation" programme, meeting the water services delivery plan deadline and how the city and regional deal framework would unfurl would be key in the next year, Mr Kircher said.
Waitaki’s "transformation" was to bring council operations "up to date" while making it "fit for purpose for the future".
It had yet to fully crystallise.
The council had $400m of water upgrades earmarked. But changes to the bottom line to pay via a new pathway through the Water Services Bill had yet to be settled.
The regional deals promise also remained shadowy, he said.
"I think the best thing we can do is be ready for when we do get the opportunity."
Re-election call later:
‘I brought about a fair bit of change’
Gore
BY BEN ANDREWS
Gore District Mayor Ben Bell Bell’s first term has not been without mistakes.
He admits this, and with a year to go until the 2025 local election the country’s youngest mayor is undecided on whether he wants to put his hat back in the ring for a second term.
The 25-year old said he would decide later, instead choosing to focus on work for now.
"I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but I think we’ve worked through a lot of that and hopefully come out the other side.
"I think it’s pretty clear that it’s been a pretty bumpy ride. Definitely been put through the ringer, that’s for sure."
The Gore District Council was "completely different" from when he first arrived, he said.
"Which is what a lot of people were looking for. I think I brought about a fair bit of change."
Along with change, the continued advocacy for the Gore district by councillors stood out as something he was particularly proud of.
"Gore’s had a really big voice for such a small place. That’s something that I’m proud of. We’ve made our voice heard right throughout the country and we’ll continue to."
With the most difficult parts of his job being well documented, he said the learning curve stood out to him as being one of the hardest parts of the role.
His election to the job was not without controversy, as he defeated former mayor Tracy Hicks by a slim margin of eight votes; winning 2371 votes to Hicks’ 2363 votes.
Mr Hicks applied for a recount but a judge rejected his bid for one.
The close nature might have been a hard pill for a lot of people to swallow, Mr Bell said.
"That was always going to happen.
"For a long time people couldn’t accept that I was there."
Despite that he has got out and about in the community and said it was the best part of his job.
"Recognising people, going to schools - that sort of thing is the real bread and butter of the job."
That is what kept him coming into the office, he said.
