Tuakau byelection draws in 10 nominations for four seats on community board

Tuakau is on the hunt for four more community board members after the October election didn't draw in enough candidates. Photo / Doug Sherring

Tuakau residents will have their say on their local representatives again this month, as 10 candidates have put their names forward for a seat on the local community board.

The candidates vying for one of the four vacant seats are: Peter Coleman, Adrianne Frame, Richard Gee, previous Awaroa ki Tuakau Ward councillor Stephanie Henderson, Riki Manarangi, Carl Morgan, Kerry Moshiem, Maaka Potini, Fili Semau and Tom Van der Laan.

To find out more about the candidates, visit the Waikato District Council website.

The byelection, to be held on February 17, was caused by insufficient nominations at the local elections last October, as only three candidates had been nominated for the six-member community board.

The candidates that put their names forward back then are David Henderson and Grace Tema-Liapaneke, who have been elected unopposed and have already held their positions since October. They came into the office on the same day as the councillors.

Originally, previous board member Vern Reeve had also been elected unopposed, but he has been elected as a Tuakau-Pōkeno Ward councillor, so his nomination was withdrawn.

The byelection will be conducted by postal vote and will be undertaken by Election Services, under contract to Waikato District Council. The first-past-the-post (FPP) electoral system will be used.

Voting packs for the byelection are currently being delivered to enrolled residents within the Tuakau Community Board area. The voting packs must be returned by post, or hand-delivered during normal business hours to the council’s Tuakau or Ngāruawāhia office, by noon on February 17.