Most Gisborne councillors seek re-election, Colin Alder mulls Gisborne mayoral run

Gisborne district councillor Colin Alder (inset) is one of the sitting councillors who will seek re-election in October, but he is still deciding whether to run for the mayoralty as he did in 2022. Photos / File

Gisborne district councillor Colin Alder, who will seek re-election in October, is still considering whether he will again run for the mayoralty.

He is one of 11 councillors seeking another term at the upcoming election, with two opting out and one resigning before the end of their term.

Alder told the Gisborne Herald he would definitely be standing again for council and would soon decide whether to run against incumbent Mayor Rehette Stolz as he did in 2022.

Nominations for candidates close at noon on August 1.

Stolz, mayor since the resignation of Meng Foon in 2019, has previously indicated she would seek re-election.

Alder, as a first-time candidate in 2022, was the second-highest-ranking candidate elected in the General ward but lost the mayoralty to Stolz, 8009 votes to 2943.

Alder was second out of the four mayoral candidates.

Six-term Gisborne district councillor Andy Cranston, when last contacted in March, said he was unsure but was leaning towards standing because of the councillors who were not running again.

This week, he told the Herald that at his “ageing stage”, he had the time to devote to council duties.

He believed some first-term councillors could be “a bit naive” about the time required to fulfil councillor responsibilities.

First-term councillor Rob Telfer confirmed he would be seeking re-election.

He believed it took about 18 months to understand council procedure and processes.

“You feel 10 feet tall and all bushy-tailed.”

But council work was not straightforward.

Telfer said he now understood the council “fairly well” and “I feel like I still have something to offer”.

First-term councillor Teddy Thompson said he would probably stand again and would “pick up” the nomination form when the council next sat.

Ten Gisborne district councillors out of the 13 elected three years ago and Mayor Rehette Stolz will seek re-election on October 11.

Councillors who have previously stated they would rerun are Māori ward councillors Nick Tupara, Aubrey Ria, Rhonda Tibble and Rawinia Parata, and General ward councillors Debbie Gregory and Larry Foster.

General ward councillor Josh Wharehinga and Māori ward councillor Ani Pahuru-Huriwai have previously said they would not seek re-election.

General ward councillor Tony Robinson resigned in February after taking up a position at council.

No by-election was required as he resigned within a year of the election.

Local Government NZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said there were 1465 seats available across 66 councils (including eight General seats and five Māori seats in Gisborne), including 66 Mayoral seats.

“At the last local election, we had 3119 people standing across 1607 seats across the country; a ratio of almost two people for every seat.”

Seven mayors were elected unopposed to their roles in the last election, while 40% of members were elected for the first time.

In Gisborne, 61.5% of councillors elected in 2022 were elected for the first time, including all five councillors elected to Gisborne’s first Māori ward.

“Ultimately, we want more New Zealanders heading to the polls to have their say. The 42% voter turnout at the 2022 local elections was not good enough,” Freeman-Greene said.

The 2022 voter turnout in Gisborne was 43.4%.

Election day is October 11, and postal ballot papers must be received by noon.

The election includes a binding referendum on whether the Māori ward should be retained.