Central Hawke's Bay District Council announces byelection

Tim Chote at the wheel of his 1975 Ford Escort.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council is on the search to fill a seat on a ward that only attracted four candidates for four seats at the last election ... all elected unopposed.

The council is to hold a byelection, to fill the seat left vacant by the death of popular councillor and businessman Tim Chote last month.

Mr Chote died on June 20, after a year of illness, with Central Hawke's Bay mayor Alex Walker saying it had been an absolute pleasure to work with Mr Chote and he would be sorely missed.

"We have lost one of our passionate, loyal, and hard-working members of both council and community. Tim brought a practical and intelligent view to how council business should be run."

She said a highlight of his councillor career was the unanimous vote to support the rebuild of the Waipawa and District's Centennial Memorial Pool.

He also owned Chote Bros Transport and Tim Chote Appliances in Waipawa.

Mr Chote was in his second term as a councillor for the Ruataniwha ward. He was first elected in 2016 where he won a significant number of votes. He retained his seat unopposed at the 2019 election.

The byelection will be held for the Ruataniwha ward to fill one extraordinary vacancy.

Nominations for the position are now open and close at noon on Thursday, August 20.

Nominations must be made on the official nomination form which can be requested from the Central Hawke's Bay District Council, or downloaded from the council website, which also has a candidate information sheet for instructions and requirements, which is available to collect from the Central Hawke's Bay District Council Waipawa office, or to download from the website.

Central Hawke's Bay residents can view and update their details on the preliminary roll for the byelection at the council office from Thursday, July 23 to Thursday, August 20.