Mr Fraser, who is now sales manager at Southland Farm Machinery, has been declared the preliminary winner of the Gore District Council’s Gore ward by-election.
Mr Fraser polled 626 votes, ahead of Steve Hamlin (565) and Alan Byrne (440) with 31 special votes still to be counted.
The by-election was triggered in May by the resignation of long-standing councillor Bret Highsted.
Mr Highsted resigned in April saying that since the local body elections in October he had found the council environment "highly stressful and the levels of anxiety unsustainable’’.
The final result is expected late Monday afternoon, after special votes have been counted.
In his candidate profile, Mr Fraser said he was seeking election for the vacant position in the council after residing in Gore for the last three years. Originally from a farming background and spending his "early years’’in the Riverton area, he spent 10 years overseas on an "OE’’ before returning to New Zealand and policing in "various positions" around Southland for 19 years.
As part of his election promotion he highlighted the challenges of government intervention in 3 Waters, the need for a review of recycling options and the effects of inflationary pressures as his major concerns for the community.
