Eight candidates contesting Northland Regional Council byelection

Northland Regional Council head office in Whangārei. There are eight candidates for the byelection. Photo / Tania Whyte

Eight people have put themselves forward for Northland Regional Council's byelection.

Dale Ofsoske, Electoral Officer said the byelection candidates are Terry Archer (Maungatapere), Stuart Bell (Whangārei), Chrichton Christie (Whangārei), Paul Dimery (Tutukaka), Fiona Douglas (Whangārei), Kieran Powdrell (Hikurangi), Darleen Tana Hoff-Nielsen (Whangārei) and Charlotte Toner (Whangārei).

The successful candidate will be known on Friday, February 19.

Northland Regional Council's $80,000 Whangārei urban constituency byelection comes after former deputy-chairman and longtime councillor John Bain resigned on the spot and walked out of the council's October meeting over its pending Māori seats vote – which was in favour of the constituencies.

The candidates are split on their views about Māori seats. Dimery, Douglas, Hoff-Nielsen (Ngāpuhi) and Toner are in favour with Archer, Christie and Bell against.

Powdrell (Tainui) would not be drawn on whether or not he was in favour of the option.

Postal voting documents will be mailed to eligible voters from January 26 with voting closing on February 17. Nominations closed on Tuesday.

"All resident electors and non-resident ratepayer electors of the Whangārei urban constituency whose names are on the latest electoral roll are eligible to vote," Ofsoske said.

There are 29,300 people eligible to vote in the constituency.

The successful candidate will join sitting NRC Whangārei urban councillor Jack Craw.

Bell, Christie, Tana Hoff-Nielsen and Toner live in the Whangārei urban constituency. (Douglas lives in Whangārei but not in the constituency where the byelection's taking place).

A number of the candidates have previously been Northland local government councillors.

Powdrell wouldn't be drawn on Māori seats, saying this was because he wasn't in favour of the first past the post voting system under which they existed. His preference was for a single transferable voting system.