Let the race begin
He Whare Hono o Tūwharetoa, where the council administration resides.
Nominations have closed and the names are in for candidates standing in the local government elections – with Taupō bucking the trend in some areas where only one nomination ensured a shoo-in.
By Chris Marshall
Vacancies in the Taupō District for mayor and 12 councillors will be contested by 30 hopefuls.
Zane Cozens, John Funnell, deputy mayor Kevin Taylor, and incumbent mayor David Trewavas are the four candidates vying to be the district’s next mayor while Christine Rankin, a fixture on the mayoral ballot in the last three elections, is not standing this time.
Rankin says while she has been under a lot of pressure to stand again and never had so many offers of help, she loved her work as chief executive officer at Lake Taupō Hospice and would have to choose between that and the mayoralty if successful.
“But you can definitely do my job here at hospice and be a councillor. I have tried several times (as a mayoral candidate) and for whatever reason the district wasn’t ready for me and that’s okay. They are ready for me now I think, but my time has passed, and I believe I am a strong and fairly passionate advocate and want to continue that for another three years.”
The 13-person council draws representatives from five wards, including Mangakino-Pouakani (1), Taupō (7), Taupō East Rural (1), Tūrangi-Tongariro (1) and two from Te Papamārearea Māori Ward, created before the 2022 local body election but whose future is in the lap of a binding vote alongside the candidate poll.
Of note this election is that both Mangakino-Pouakani and Taupō East Rural will be contested – neither were in 2022.
With long time councillor Kirsty Trueman not standing again in the former, the race is between Hope Woodward allied to the Let’s Go Taupō block and Marlene Johnson, general manager of the Mangakino Community Charitable Trust.
In the latter, sitting councillor Kylie Leonard will also be up against a Let’s Go Taupō candidate, Rebecca Stafford, in the ward first created in 2019.
The third of the Let’s Goers, Ann Tweedie is one of 17 standing for the seven places in the Taupō Ward including current councillors Duncan Campbell, Rankin, Rachel Shepherd, Taylor, and Yvonne Westerman; the departure of Anna Park and John Williamson meaning at least two new councillors in this ward.
Others standing are Richard Cade, Bill Clarke, Nicola De Lautour, Barry Delany, David Freeman, Steve Manunui, Steve Punter, Belinda Walker, Katrin Wilson, Mark Wynyard and Julie Yeoman.
In the Tūrangi-Tongariro Ward current councillor Sandra Greenslade has two rivals to contend with – David Livingstone and Alan (Raff) Rafferty – though the first-time councillor triumphed over three rivals in 2022.
The vote in Te Papamārearea Māori Ward for two candidates will also result in at least one new councillor with the departure of Karam Fletcher. Remaining incumbent Danny Loughlin will be up against Ngāhuia Foreman whose affiliation is listed as Toitū te Tiriti and Wahine Murch.
The future of the ward after the next triennium is up in the air since the coalition government's Māori Wards Bill was passed in late July, 2024, emerging from a coalition agreement commitment between the National Party and both ACT and NZ First.
It requires councils that brought in Māori wards without polling residents to hold a binding referendum or scrap the ones they had set up. Taupō will be one of 42 councils nationwide running a poll for Māori wards in October.
TDC chief executive Julie Gardyne expressed pleasure at the number of candidates.
“With voter turnout at 46 per cent in 2022, I hope to see that interest carried over… with more people using their vote.”
Last time’s turnout was the lowest in four elections with Taupō’s turnout prior to 2022 over 50 per cent for 2010, 2016 and 2019 and at 48.48 per cent in 2013.
Opportunities to get to know the candidates will likely come through meet-the-candidate events, and the council is also planning short videos online in August introducing each.
While TDC deputy electoral officer Shainey James advised the deadline for enrolling to receive voting papers in the mail had passed, people could still enrol and update their details at www.vote.nz and cast a special vote.
Currently 87 per cent of the district’s population was enrolled, she said.
“I would love to see that closer to 100. And in the 18- to 24-year-old bracket only 53 per cent are currently enrolled to vote, so talk to your friends, teenagers and rangatahi, and encourage them to enrol.”
Voting opens Tuesday, September 9 and closes 12 noon on Saturday, October 11.
More information is available at www.taupo.govt.nz/vote25.