Nominations open this week for vacant Hastings council seats

Hastings acting mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, left, Hastings councillor Bayden Barber, and Hastings acting deputy mayor Simon Nixon intend to stand in upcoming Hastings byelection.

Former Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule and Hastings-Havelock North ward councillor Adrienne Pierce officially tendered their resignations from the Hastings District Council today, triggering the election process to fill their positions.

Both left the council on unpaid leave on June 23 to pursue their national political ambitions - Mr Yule as National's candidate for the Tukituki electorate, and Ms Pierce representing the National Party in the Palmerston North electorate.

Nominations to fill their positions officially open on Thursday this week, and close on Thursday, September 28.

To date current acting mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, acting deputy mayor Simon Nixon and councillor Bayden Barber had signalled their intentions to run for the mayoral seat.

Mr Yule said the formality should put an end to speculation that he could choose to step back into the mayoralty role.

He also recently officially stood down as President of Local Government New Zealand - an honour he held for nine years.

"My commitment to Hastings district over the past 15 years has been solid and I stand 100 per cent committed to putting all of my experience, relationships and knowledge into being the best MP the Tukituki electorate has ever had.

"Politics is no walk in the park - but I have a depth of experience, relationships and knowledge working in this electorate that no other candidate can match and I am excited about the opportunities for Tukituki and what I can achieve for this electorate in Parliament."

A postal election will be held for the two positions with voting closing on Friday, November 24 and a candidate information evening for anyone considering putting their hand up was set to be held on Monday, September 4.

When he announced he would be running for parliament, Mr Yule said that although he could have resigned on June 23, with the legal requirement for a byelection to be held within 89 days of such an announcement, it would have meant the local council election would have coincided with the general election.

By choosing the later date, the candidates running for council will now be able to start officially campaigning on September 24 - one day after the election - when they can start erecting their billboards around the district.

The electoral system for this election is First Past the Post, meaning the highest polling candidate takes the position, and residents were encouraged to check that their details were correct on the electoral roll.

Preliminary results were expected to be announced on November 24, with the official declaration made on Wednesday, November 29.

It was estimated the cost of a mayoral byelection, based on about 50,000 electors in the Hastings district, could be up to $100,000.

This would include expenses, such as public notices, voting papers, postage, insurance and counting the votes.

Another byelection to fill any vacant councillor seat, if a current councillor were to successfully run for mayor, would depend on the number of voters in the ward.