Longest-serving Napier city councillors Tony Jeffery and Faye White, each expected to retire at this year's elections after 18 years in office. Photo / File
Longest-serving Napier city councillors Tony Jeffery and Faye White, each expected to retire at this year's elections after 18 years in office. Photo / File
The Napier City Council could be looking for at least five new members following two-term councillor Kirsten Wise's decision to seek only the mayoralty.
Wise confirmed to Hawke's Bay Today the only job she'll be seeking in the Local Elections, for which nominations opened on Friday, will be the chairvacated by Mayor Bill Dalton and acting Mayor and retiring sixth-term councillor Faye White, who has been at the helm since Dalton suffered a stroke three months ago.
Chris Tremain, who this week announced his Mayoral candidacy, will also not be seeking a Council position.
Chris Tremain is running for Mayor of Napier, but not for council. Photo / Warren Buckland
Longest-serving councillors White and Tony Jeffery, each first elected in 2001, are among those understood to be retiring, Jeffery confirming his position to Hawke's Bay Today, the last meeting closing another chapter in the 39 years of Jeffery-family involvement.
Father Clyde Jeffery's 21 years include a 1974-1983 stint as Mayor.
The new council of 12 members will thus need replacements for councillors Wise, White, Jeffery and single-term councillors Larry Dallimore and Claire Hague who are also understood to be not standing again for a reshaped council which will shed its half at-large makeup to take on a full-ward structure.
Kirsten Wise won't be on council if she doesn't win the mayoralty. Photo / Warren Buckland
Wise, White, Jeffery and Hague were among the six At-Large councillors, and of the other two four-term councillor Keith Price confirmed he's standing for one of the two positions in the Ahuriri Ward, which includes the hills and Westshore, and Richard McGrath will seek one of the two positions in Onekawa-Tamatea, which he contested in 2013.
Fellow two-term councillor Annette Brosnan will also re-election in Onekawa-Tamatea, where she was elected unopposed as the sole representative three years ago.
Four-term councillor Maxine Boag and successful 2016 election running mate Api Tapine will be seeking re-election in two of the four seats in the Nelson Park Ward, which includes Napier South, Marewa and Maraenui, and Crs Tania Wright (4 terms) and Graeme Taylor (2 terms) will seek re-election in Taradale, which will now have four representatives at the table.
Not all of the incumbents were able to be contacted this week, but Price and McGrath were both looking forward to the challenge posed by switching from At-Large representation to that of a more localised ward.
Price said he was keen for the public to know he will be standing and where, while McGrath has been doing the spade work "for the last six-to-eight weeks", knocking on doors and getting the billboards up.
Boag and Tapine are more an aligned pair than a running-mate partnership this time, Boag saying they didn't want to be "too exclusive" as they remain interested in seeing the quality of other newcomers seeking the positions.
Boag is particularly concerned that people guarantee their chance to vote, and said people should be checking their electoral roll name and address details are correct.
"If they're not you may miss out on getting the voting papers," she said.
Nominations for local and regional council, and district health board elections close across the country on August 16. Voting closes on October 12.
