Nominations closed last week for candidates standing in local government elections, which will be held by postal vote in September and October this year.

For Ōpōtiki, that means 12 vacancies across two general wards, two Māori wards, a community board, and a mayor elected at large.

Ōpōtiki District Council deputy electoral officer Cindy Butt said that 24 people had been nominated, so there would be an election for all the positions, and some vacancies had more than five candidates competing for two roles.

“I think it is a very good sign for the district that there are so many candidates willing to take on this important role for their community. It indicates a healthy democracy with people engaged in the election and informed on the role and importance of council,” Ms Butt said.

Ms Butt said that there had been discussions happening around the country and increased national media coverage about voting and electoral changes, but it wasn’t always clear what that meant for local government elections this year.

“While yes, the electoral rolls closed on Friday, August 1, you can still enrol or update your address after that deadline. It just means you won’t get your voting papers in the post in September. But you can still vote. You will just need to do a ‘special vote’ and you can read about what that means on our website.

“It is not such an unusual situation as sometimes the papers sent to voters get lost or damaged, sometimes people aren’t in their home electorate when they want to vote, or the dog could even eat it. So don’t be put off voting – make sure you are enrolled and have your say with a special vote.

“The other thing that might be confusing people at the moment is the conversation about proposed changes to voting requirements such as not enrolling on election day.

“Whatever happens with those changes, they won’t impact this year for local government elections in September and October. The soonest they would take effect is next year, so any person eligible to vote can apply to enrol right up to and including Friday, October 10, the day before voting closes,” Ms Butt said.

The Ōpōtiki District Council website has all the latest information on candidates, key dates, enrolling and special votes – www.odc.govt.nz/elections.

Ōpōtiki District Council
Mayor – one required
■ Curley Keno
David Moore

Coast Māori Ward – one required
■ Haki McRoberts
■ Pāpā Wharewera

Ōpōtiki Māori Ward – two required
■ Curley Keno
■ Maude Maxwell
■ Linda Steel

Urban General Ward – two required
■ Shona Browne
■ Barry Howe
■ Alex Lelong
■ Simon Prout
■ Lyn Riesterer

Rural General Ward – two required
■ Chris Hopman
■ Steven Nelson
■ Caitlin Papuni-McLellan
■ Dean Petersen
■ Jodi Porter

Coast Community Board – four required
■ Gaylene Dudek
■ Ripeka Mihaere
■ Te Ataarangi Parata
■ Tiaki (Jack) Parata
■ Tullulah Ross
■ Lucy Steel
■ Allen Waenga

Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Eastern Bay Constituency – two required
■ Malcolm Campbell
■ Adrian Gault
■ Jessica Sneha Gray
■ Sarah van der Boom

Kōhi Māori Constituency – one required
■ Karamea (Chris) Insley
■ Mawera Karetai
■ Ngapera Rangiaho
■ Jackie Te Amo Te Kurupa