A candidate's fitness to serve on the Timaru District Council is being questioned after police charged her for allegedly urinating in a city street in Dunedin.
Mother of three Karen Collings, who has promoted herself for election as being "extremely resourceful" and "a breath of fresh air", allegedly
relieved herself in a gutter outside a Dunedin hotel.
She was charged with offensive behaviour.
Ms Collings, who was born in Dunedin in 1962, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
She was due to speak at a Meet the Candidates meeting in Timaru yesterday afternoon, but did not show.
Dunedin police would not comment on the charge against her or the incident.
Long-serving Timaru district councillor Terry Kennedy said older people in the region might view her alleged actions as disgraceful, but others might disregard it.
There was perhaps an argument that "when you have to go, you have to go".
Council candidate Ian Bowan told the Herald: "The electors will make up their own minds on [Ms Collings]".
"And I'll be surprised if she gets elected."
He suspected that about 40-50 per cent of people intending to vote in the region would have already cast their votes. Ms Collings owns a hotel in Temuka, just north of Timaru, and is now working as a part-time bar manager and tutoring foreign students.
"I enjoy both these jobs as I enjoy adding value to people's lives," she said in her biographical notes.
She is also studying for a business diploma.
Ms Collings is one of 14 candidates for seven spots on the Timaru ward of the Timaru District Council.
Electoral officer Mark Low said a sitting councillor could only be thrown out of the job if convicted of a criminal offence punishable by two or more years imprisonment.
Voting in the Timaru district closes at noon on October 13.
