The results of the recent Hawke's Bay Power Consumers' Trust election results have been announced with those in favour of the annual Unison dividend being returned to power consumers all successfully elected.
Trust incumbents Diana Kirton, Helen Francis and Ken Gilligan all campaigned on a "Your cheque-Your choice" platform in the face of five candidates who wanted more openness and transparency on how the trust operated.
The five were recently retired Unison chairman Kevin Atkinson, former Napier MP and Cabinet minister Chris Tremain, paediatrician and former children's commissioner Russell Wills, former Napier mayor Barbara Arnott and former pharmacist Peter Dunkerley.
Of the five, Mr Atkinson and Mrs Arnott were also elected to the trust.
Debate over the allocation of the annual dividend sparked a higher level of interest in the trustee election than seen in previous years, with a final voter turnout of 30.8 per cent of eligible voters compared to a turnout of 23.8 per cent in the last election in 2014.
Mrs Kirton received the highest number of votes, 12,047, followed by Helen Francis, 9,490, and Kevin Atkinson, 9,044.