Taupō mayor happy to be there at the end

Taupō mayor David Trewavas discusses his plan for a fourth term in office, the morning after the election results were announced. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Taupō District mayor David Trewavas is happy to be back in the hot seat for a fourth term so he can see major projects through to completion.

It has been a busy three years for the council as it works through a list of major civic projects, including digging up and redesigning the Taupō town centre.

The district's largest town has gone through an unprecedented period of development over the past three years and Trewavas said he was keen to see some of those major developments through.

Other projects include a new airport terminal, a new building to house a raft of social agencies in the town, and the development of large areas of council-owned land into new residential areas at the southern end of Taupō.

Council staff have also been spread far and wide after the old council building was found to have asbestos issues and torn down. A new building is being constructed and will be leased back to the council.

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Trewavas was returned for a fourth term, with a preliminary result of 5215 votes, after 90 per cent had been counted.

"It's an honour to be selected to once again represent our beautiful district," he said.

"I'm looking forward to carrying on all the great work that we have under way and to keep working to make this a fantastic place to live for all our community."

Trewavas said there were positive signs ahead for the region's main industries such as forestry, farming and energy. Even the important tourism industry was bouncing back strongly from Covid-19.

The other two mayoral candidates, Christine Rankin and Sean Wakelin, achieved 3782 and 926 votes respectively in the interim results.

Rankin also challenged for the mayoralty three years ago and was given the job of deputy mayor in the last term.

It has been a friendly rivalry but Trewavas said he would not be making a decision on his deputy until he had met the new team of councillors, which includes five new faces.

"We will just see who is the best fit for the job. Christine has been a good deputy but we will assign that in the coming weeks, probably November."

The seven successful candidates for the Taupō ward are: Christine Rankin, Yvonne Westerman, Kevin Taylor, Anna Park, John Williamson, Rachel Shepherd and Duncan Campbell.

The successful candidate for the Tūrangi-Tongariro ward is Sandra Greenslade.

In the new Te Papamārearea Māori ward, Karam Fletcher and Danny Aperahama Loughlin were the successful candidates.

Kylie Leonard for the Taupō East Rural ward and Kirsty Trueman for the Mangakino-Pouakani ward were both re-elected unopposed.

The newcomers are Shepherd, Campbell, Greenslade, Fletcher and Aperahama.

All of the sitting councillors who decided to run again were re-elected.

Trewavaas said the most challenging issue of the past three years was the traffic reconfiguration in the town centre, which had not been popular with all permanent residents.

The four-lane road through town has been reduced to two lanes, with through traffic redirected down Spa Rd and Titiraupenga St, creating a more pedestrian and shopper-friendly environment and linking the CBD with the lakefront.

"I acknowledge there is a bit of pain in the change but I'm sure the final outcome will be good for everyone."

This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air