Wairoa's mayor says roads, CBD revitalisation and forestry major issues for the district

Wairoa District Council mayor Craig Little has been re-elected for a third term. Photo / File

Wairoa's re-elected mayor says major projects for the district include roads, CBD revitalisation and reducing the amount of farmland being turned to forestry.

Craig Little has been voted in for a third term, winning the election by a 1000-plus votes.
Little won 1674 votes, beating Waipatu Winitana and Jennifer Takuta-Moses, who received 410 and 147 votes respectively.

He said major projects include sealing State Highway 38 and lobbying central government to fix the road out to Mahia, which has multiple drop outs due to coastal erosion.

"It should be considered a road of national significance, with Rocket Lab out there."

He said revitalising the CBD, including attracting new businesses to the district and fixing buildings, was another focus.

He also wants to see less farmland converted to forestry.

Little said he was happy with Saturday's result, saying he had a good team of councillors around him.

He said the council would be able to hit the ground running.

He wanted to congratulate everyone who put up their hand for council, saying it was not easy to stand in local government elections.

He also wanted to congratulate the other Hawke's Bay mayors, Alex Walker in Central Hawke's Bay, Sandra Hazlehurst in Hastings, Kirsten Wise in Napier and Tracey Collis in Tararua.

"Obviously Kirsten is new to the Hawke's Bay team, and I hope she fits in with us well, because we work very well together."

The councillors in the general ward are Denise Eaglesome-Karekare, Hine Flood and Jeremy Harker.

Chaans Tumataroa-Clarke, Melissa Kaimoana and Danika Goldsack have won seats in the Māori Ward.

Wairoa saw a drop in voter turnout, with only 42.87 per cent of voters participating the elections.

In 2016, the district saw a voter return of 54.5 per cent.

Little said it would have been great for more people to turn out and vote, both in Wairoa and right across New Zealand.