Election fever hits Bay as billboards go up

Maori Party co-leader and Ikaroa-Rawhiti candidate Marama Fox's election billboard. Photo/Warren Buckland

Election fever has hit Hawke's Bay with hundreds of billboards being put up around the region at the weekend.

A council bylaw means signs have been up in Napier for a month, but for the rest of the region election hoardings for the general election on September 23 were allowed to be put up only on Saturday.

The Electoral Act allows signs up to 3sq m in size to be put up two months before an election.

Candidates from several parties spent the weekend with teams of volunteers bringing their campaigns into plain sight along busy roads.

Labour candidate for Tukituki Anna Lorck said she put up 101 signs, with some help, and attended neighbourhood meetings where she got offers of more sites for signs.

"Hastings has come alive, election fever is happening now."

For the first time there had also been many offers of sites from Havelock North, she said.

National candidate for Napier David Elliott said he had been allowed signs in Napier city for the past month but had been putting up his 200 slowly with a team of others and erected more at the weekend as well as shifting others to fresh spots.

"We get up as many as we can when we can, it's quite nice to get the drill out and do some work."

The signs are a mixture of party and candidate and Mr Elliott is pictured with Prime Minister Bill English on his billboards.

This helped to send a constant, unified and strong message and would hopefully help get votes, he said.

Green Party candidate for Tukituki Chris Perley said there were several teams of volunteers putting up about 70 billboards, mainly party but also a few candidate signs for himself.

Last election the majority of billboards were party signs because the aim was still to get the party vote, but feedback had shown people wanted to know the candidates so the party selected more individuals this year, he said.

However, a party's policy and a person's character was more important than a billboard, he said.

Maori Party co-leader and Ikaroa-Rawhiti candidate Marama Fox spent the weekend erecting billboards in Wairarapa and Wainuiomata but had other teams putting up 65 in Hawke's Bay.

"Billboards are a bit of fun, getting the faces out there," she said.

"I like to compare them and look at everyone else, it's good to see all the political parties out there helping people make decisions."

The Democrats for Social Credit candidate for Tukituki, Richard Ryan, said he would not be putting up any signs because of the expense and the party's campaign had not properly started.

Labour MP for Napier and candidate Stuart Nash said he had spent yesterday putting up signs in Wairoa and Nuhaka but had already had most of the party's 200 erected a month ago.

At their first opportunity in June, teams spent three hours from 12am-3am in bitter cold and rain working hard to put 26 up, he said.

He has had a better response from people offering their properties as sites than the last election.

Green Party candidate for Ikaroa-Rawhiti Elizabeth Kerekere said about 25 signs had been put up in Hawke's Bay at the weekend but because she lived in Gisborne she had spent time putting many up there.

She planned to come to Hawke's Bay for candidate debates and to meet people in the near future.

Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti and candidate Meka Whaitiri said teams had been in Hawke's Bay putting up signs during the night to be first this weekend and a month ago in Napier.

"I take my hat off to all my volunteers."

Green Party candidate for Napier Damon Rusden said he did not have any candidate signs but party billboards had been put up a few weeks ago.

"We're still going for the party vote."

Napier's Democrats for Social Credit candidate, Karl Matthys, and Maori Party candidate, Maryanne Marsters, and National candidate for Tukituki Lawrence Yule were unavailable for comment.