Editorial: Hear from the candidates at our election meetings

Andrew Austin, Editor of Hawke's Bay Today.

The general election season of madness is upon us and given the rapid change in fortunes for some political parties it looks like it is going to be an exciting contest.

Locally, there are some tantalising fights and Hawke's Bay Today will give you as much information as possible about the candidates so that you can make informed choices.

We have plenty of coverage in the next few weeks. Today we give a breakdown on how many young people in the region have voted and the figures may surprise you.

Our team of reporters has been out and about talking to people on the streets from Wairoa to Dannevirke. Tomorrow we will give you an overview of the issues facing our different electorates and tell you which candidates appeal to voters.

Each week until the election we will give you profiles and stories on the candidates who hope to represent you.

We have also got three Meet the Candidates debates planned for September.

The meetings will be open to the public and we hope as many of you will come as possible so that you can hear directly from the candidates.

Our first meeting, a debate between the Tukituki candidates, will be at Karamu High School in Hastings from 6pm-8pm on September 7. We will follow this with a Napier electorate debate at Napier Boys' High School from 6pm-8pm on September 12.

Our third meeting - an Ikaroa-Rawhiti electorate debate - will be at Irongate School in Flaxmere from 6pm-8pm on September 14.

If you have any questions you would like me to ask the candidates at any of the meetings, please send to editor@hbtoday.co.nz.