Poll brings relief but no celebration for mayor

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton

The gathering was less about celebration and more about relief for Bill Dalton's gathering of friends, family and colleagues from the Napier City Council at his home last night.

"This has not been like a mayoral election," he said as he clearly began to relax after days, weeks, months and years of an intense debate.

"It was for the people of Hawke's Bay to choose the form of government they wanted - it's not about me," he said.

"I didn't regard this as a win or lose thing - it is not," he said.

While the sense of celebration may not have filled the air there were smiles and there was a clear sense of relief - that after years of uncertainty hovering over the region's five councils all was now effectively sorted and settled. And it wasn't just the mayor and councillors who were delighted to watch the results flow in to the point where two-thirds of the vote had gone their way to reject amalgamation.

Mr Dalton's wife Shirley was equally delighted.

"When I told Shirley the numbers she just burst into tears because she's gone through all this with me - she's seen how it was and she is now feeling that relief."

Mrs Dalton was all smiles last night. "Yes I just cried with relief - it has been so hard, so consuming."

She said sleep would now certainly come easier.

The Daltons were joined by several councillors and they, too, shared the relief.

Richard McGrath had been a vocal, and visual, opponent of amalgamation - fixing a large "no" hoarding to the roof-rack of his car.

"But I couldn't park it in the council carpark of course," he said with a smile.

He said it was his opinion as a ratepayer and he was keen to make it known and share it.

"People wanted facts and evidence about all this and one side was able to give them the facts - the other side just gave them slogans."

Keith Price said he had been intrigued by one part of the pro-amalgamation drive which indicated that without it the fish in the Bay would likely disappear.

"So I'll probably have to sell my boat now," he said with a smile.