A desire to see improvements and a change of governance at the Hastings District Council has prompted Hastings councillor Simon Nixon to stand for mayor at the upcoming byelection.
Earlier this month, current mayor Lawrence Yule announced his resignation on August 28, preceded by an unpaid leave of absence from June 23, in order to undertake his National Party campaign for the Tukituki seat.
Hastings councillor Adrienne Pierce also announced she would resign at the same time to pursue her National Party ambitions in Palmerston North, again with unpaid leave of absence from June 23.
Nominations for the vacant mayoral and council seats were due to open on August 31 and close on September 28, and to date current deputy mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and Hastings councillor Bayden Barber had announced their intention to run for mayor.
Mr Nixon said he was not doing any major preparation at this point with the close of nominations still more than four months away, but given recent events, such as the water issues and lack of sections for housing, he decided the council needed a change of direction and governance.
"It's not that I have any great personal ambition to be mayor but I do want to see improvements at Hastings District Council, and that won't happen unless someone new comes along."
Elected to council himself in 2010, and an unsuccessful contender for the mayoralty in 2013, Nixon believed the role needed someone with prior council experience, but not someone who had been there so long that they were entrenched.
He cited his ongoing calls for more airline services in the Bay, a platform on which he entered council, and concerns about the lack of sections for housing as examples of why new blood was needed.
"I may be seen as a bit disruptive but in hindsight what I was saying about the likes of Jetstar and sections running out has turned out to right."
The Havelock North water inquiry findings regarding failings at the Hastings council, some dating back a number of years, were another example of the need for change, he said.
"The eye wasn't on the ball - there was a previous history of problems and we seemed to somehow lose that information - it's had a huge impact on the economy and the people who live here."
Mr Nixon was one of many who fell ill during the campylobacter outbreak, and he said he was only just starting to recover his health now.
"I have suffered from quite extreme fatigue, and that was part of the reason I had been thinking I would not stand, but now I am in better health I feel in a better position to take on the role."
Another consideration was the number of people who had approached him to stand, indicating he had support in the community, he said.
Another person who had been approached to stand was Hawke's Bay District Health Board chairman Kevin Atkinson.
Mr Atkinson, however, said that given his other governance positions he did not feel he could commit to the demands of the role.
"Although I am retiring from Unison in July I do think the mayoral role needs pretty close to a fulltime commitment, so it's probably too big a role considering the phase of governance I am currently in."
Hastings councillor Kevin Watkins was not ruling out taking a run for the mayoral seat, but said he would make a decision closer to nomination time.
A byelection date has been set for November 24.