Final lists of Northland local body election candidates released

Voting papers for this year's local body elections go out to the public on September 16, with the postal vote closing at noon on October 8. Photo / File

Northland's four councils have confirmed their final candidates across the region, with almost 200 candidates standing.

There are 191 candidates across the region standing to be one of Northland's three mayors, 41 councillors or 19 community board members.

The candidates are made up of 22 would-be mayors, 136 would-be councillors and 33 would-be community board candidates.

Nine of the 22 mayoral candidates are standing for the Far North District Council (FNDC), seven for the Whangārei District Council (WDC) and six for the Kaipara District Council (KDC).

The FNDC's 91 candidates comprise the nine mayoral hopefuls, 43 councillor candidates and 39 community board candidates. Fifty-two are vying for 11 elected council seats - the mayoralty, 10 councillor positions across three general wards and the new council Māori ward Ngā Tai o Tokerau Ward.

Thirty-nine candidates are vying to be community board representatives across 19 elected positions on three community boards. For the final list go to: https://www.fndc.govt.nz/Whats-new/Latest-news/Far-North-election-line-up-confirmed.

The WDC's 46 candidates are made up of seven mayoral candidates and 39 councillor candidates for 14 elected positions, including the mayoralty and five general wards as well as the Whangārei District Māori Ward. For the final list go to: https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Council/Governance/Voting-and-elections/Candidates.

The KDC's 30 candidates comprise six mayoral candidates and 30 councillor candidates for 10 elected positions including the mayoralty across three general wards and the Māori ward Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori Ward. For the final list go to: www.kaipara.govt.nz/council/local-elections.

The NRC's 24 candidates are vying for nine elected positions across seven general constituencies and the Te Raki Māori Constituency. Councillors will choose their chair after the elections. For the final list go to: https://www.nrc.govt.nz/your-council/elected-members/elections/2022-local-elections/candidate-details.

The region's four new council-wide Māori wards have attracted 33 candidates. The FNDC's Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward has 18 candidates, WDC's Whangārei District Māori Ward six candidates, the KDC's Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori Ward five candidates and the NRC's Te Raki Māori Constituency four candidates.

Voting papers for the postal ballot go out on September 16, with voting closing at noon on October 8. Preliminary election results should be known by the end of October 8, with final results due the following week.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air