Election candidates: Hawke’s Bay Today to host three candidate evenings as campaign heats up

Karamū High School will host the Tukituki and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti election candidates evenings and Onekawa School will host the Napier evening.

Three events this week will help Hawke’s Bay voters decide who they want representing them in Parliament.

Hawke’s Bay Today is hosting three candidate evenings for the three electorates that can class Hawke’s Bay as their biggest voting catchment.

We’re holding them this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - the final week before early voting starts - to give the undecided voters in the region the best chance to make up their minds.

Each event will start at 6.30pm, with doors opening at 6.15pm, and will finish between 7.30pm and 8pm.

Onekawa School will host the candidate evening for the keenly fought Napier electorate on Tuesday, September 26. Expected front-runners Katie Nimon and Mark Hutchinson will be there, along with almost every other candidate from the minor parties.

On Wednesday, September 27, Karamū High School will host the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate face-off between Te Pāti Māori’s Meka Whaitiri and Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, the Labour candidate announced after Whaitiri’s defection this year. The night will be run by Hawke’s Bay Today in partnership with Ngāti Kahungunu and will also feature the seat’s third candidate, Vision NZ’s Ata Tuhakaraina.

The final evening will be for the candidates for Tukituki on Thursday, September 28, also at Karamū High School. Incumbent Labour MP Anna Lorck and National’s Catherine Wedd will be there, as will a number of other candidates, including two independents.

Hawke’s Bay Today editor Chris Hyde said the battle for electorate seats in Hawke’s Bay was the most open it had been in some time.

“I think there will be significant interest in what our candidates have to say, and how they perform on the evening.

“Napier and Tukituki can be classed as bellwether electorates, and voters typically choose the best electorate candidate, rather than voting along party lines. The races are heating up already as a result.”

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti will be another fascinating contest, which is why Hawke’s Bay Today wants to hear from its candidates, Hyde said.

“This year’s events mean there’s probably the most national hype there has ever been on our Māori seat.

“Whaitiri was able to hold it comfortably with Labour, but what about with a new party? It’s very hard to predict.”

A segment of each evening will include questions from Hawke’s Bay Today readers. If you have something you would like to ask the candidates, email it to editor@hbtoday.co.nz and we may ask it on the night.

The three events are open to all - a gold coin donation to Cranford Hospice will be asked for at the door.

The Details

• Napier candidates evening - Tuesday, September 26, 6.30pm-8pm, Onekawa School
• Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidates evening - Wednesday, September 27, 6.30pm-8pm, Karamū High School
• Tukituki candidates evening - Thursday, September 28, 6.30pm-8pm, Karamū High School