Bill Dalton hopes voter turnout will be high

HOPEFUL: Current Napier mayor Bill Dalton says he hopes residents engage in the local government elections by voting. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

NAPIER'S current mayor and second-term mayoral candidate Bill Dalton says he hopes people get engaged by voting in this year's local government election.

He said he hoped the voter turnout would not be low.

"I would certainly like to see people participate in the democratic process of local government."

Local Government New Zealand is running a campaign to encourage people to get involved after numbers have begun to decline.

The campaign aims to lift voter numbers above 50 per cent for the first time since 1998.

Mr Dalton said the election was important because it was a time when people could have their say.

He said it would be nice if everyone got out and voted.

"If people vote then they feel engaged."

In the past, Napier's turnout has been higher than the New Zealand average.

In the last election it was 47.24 per cent, which is higher than the 2010 election when it was 44.88 per cent.

"Hopefully that's a trend that's continuing as more and more people engage with local government," Mr Dalton said.

An ongoing issue was that more affluent areas had the greatest voter turnout, the mayor said, with Ahuriri having the highest voter turnout last election, Taradale had the second highest and Tamatea and Nelson Park the third and fourth highest turnout.