Local elections 2022: Nominees confirmed for local councils and a byelection for South Taranaki

Voting papers will be sent to enrolled voters in the week beginning on September 16. Photo / file

Voters in Taranaki will begin receiving their voting papers for the 2022 Local Government Elections next month, after nominations for candidates closed at noon last Friday.

However, not all candidates will be waiting for election day to know if they have a seat, with some seats across the region receiving the same number of candidates as there were seats available.

All candidates will be officially declared by public notice on Wednesday, August 17.

In Stratford, current mayor Neil Volzke is set to be re-elected unopposed with his nomination for mayor the only one received by the deadline, a Council spokesperson said in an email on Friday.

The number of candidates for both the Stratford Urban and the Stratford Māori wards also matched the number of seats available, said the spokesperson.

"At the time of this update, an election will be held for the Stratford Rural General Ward only, giving rural residents the opportunity to help decide who best represents them."

The candidates standing for election in the rural ward, which has four seats available, are Grant Boyde, Amanda Harris, Vaughan Jones, Steve Beck and Nicole McDonald.

The Stratford Urban ward has six seats, which are set to be filled by current councillors Min McKay, Jono Erwood and John Sandford, joined by newcomers Mathew Watt, Ellen Hall and Annette Dudley. Clive Tongaawhikau was the only person to put his name forward for the one seat available in the Stratford Māori ward, meaning he will also be elected unopposed.

Stratford voters will all have the opportunity to have their say when it comes to who represents them at the Taranaki Regional Council table, however, with the one seat available in the Stratford Constituency attracting a total of four nominations. Those candidates are Mary Bourke, Alan Jamieson, Matthew McDonald and Andrew Wood.

South Taranaki District Council had enough candidates when nominations closed at noon on Friday, however, an error was discovered with a nomination for the Te Hāwera Ward seat, meaning the nomination had to be withdrawn.

"This means there will need to be a by-election for the Te Hāwera Ward Council seat as there are only four candidates for the five seats," council communications manager Gerard Langford said.

South Taranaki voters will also be asked to choose their mayor, with current South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon standing for election as is newcomer Walter Smith. Both of South Taranaki's Māori wards are also going to the polls, with Leanne Horo and Caroline Waiwiri vying for the one seat available in the Te Kūrae ward and Glen Katu and Tuteri Rangihaeta standing for election to the one seat in the Te Tai Tonga ward.

All other South Taranaki District Council ward seats (Eltham-Kaponga, Pātea and Taranaki Coastal) received the same number of nominations as seats, while the four community boards received more nominations than seats.

New Plymouth District Council will release candidate names on Wednesday this week a spokesperson said, with just provisional candidate numbers available before then.

According to those provisional numbers, there are eight candidates standing for the role of New Plymouth mayor, while the majority of wards and community boards will also have more candidates than spots.

Need to know:
What: Local Government Elections 2022 key dates:
September 16 - 21: Voting documents sent to all enrolled voters by local councils
Saturday, October 8: Voting closes at midday