After the election, top polling councillor Michael Law told the Chronicle he was open to a discussion with Tripe about the role, saying “it would be a good fit”.
The longest-serving returning councillors are Philippa Baker-Hogan (eighth term), Rob Vinsen (seventh term), Kate Joblin (fourth term) and Josh Chandulal-Mackay (fourth term).
Law, Glenda Brown, Charlotte Melser, Peter Oskam and Ross Fallen will start their second term, with Mike Hos (general ward) and Julie Herewini and Geoff Hipango (Māori ward) starting their first.
Chandulal-Mackay and Oskam challenged Tripe for the mayoralty this year, finishing with 5286 votes and 1895 votes respectively.
Tripe said the deputy role was “more than just filling in” and involved visibility and transparency, good governance and strategic intent.
“There has been some interest but nothing solid yet.
“When I run these one-on-one interviews, I guess that will be more revealing.
“I’m strong on collaboration and hearing everyone’s views. When it’s time to make a decision, I’ll do it.”
Elected members for the district council and Whanganui Rural Community Board will be sworn in at Pūtiki Marae from 1pm on October 30.
Tripe, who announced Craig as his deputy during the 2022 inaugural meeting, said he was not sure whether the same would happen again.
“Hopefully, I would have met with all 12 councillors before then.
“Let’s keep the suspense.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
