Hats in the ring for Napier

Published: 12 August 2022

Two candidates, both with experience at the council table, have thrown their hats into the ring to stand for Napier Mayor alongside one newcomer.

Nigel Simpson and incumbent Kirsten Wise are both in the running for the top job, as is John Smith.

Alongside all but two incumbent councillors are nine new names on the voting papers: Louise Burnside, Leanne Cotter-Arlidge, Karl Goodchild, Te Kira Lawrence, Liz Gear, Juliet Greig, Nigel Olsen, Chad Tareha and Maria Roberts.

Every three years, a mayor and 12 councillors are elected by the city to represent and work for the people of Napier. Voting is by postal vote and is open from 16 September until noon, 8 October 2022.

Those on the electoral roll can vote in the local elections where they live. If people have not enrolled to vote by today they can still vote by enrolling online at vote.nz or calling 0800 36 76 56.

In the 2019 Napier City Council elections, the voter return was 50.03%, being 22,095 votes, excluding special votes. By comparison, in Hastings in 2019, the voter return was 43.63%, being 24,031 votes, excluding special votes. In Central Hawke’s Bay in 2019 the voter return was 54.56%, being 5,407 votes, excluding special votes.

People are encouraged to have their say by casting their vote for who will represent their community in the next three-year term.

The full list of nominations for the 2022 Napier City Council local body elections is below:

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