Campaigning for the local body elections may be over, but re-elected Timaru mayor Nigel Bowen said there is lots of work to be done.
This is to be Mr Bowen’s second term as mayor, after he received 11,787 votes against challenger Stu Piddington’s 4460.
Mr Bowen won a 2017 by-election for a Timaru ward seat, then won the 2019 mayoralty race with 8759 votes.
This election he put his name forward only for the mayoralty, and said it was good to be through the election, and that his election was a real privilege and he did not take the role for granted.
‘‘There is always risk only putting your name forward for mayor, and I’ve seen others across the country did the same but lost out. I just had faith in the three years I have served and that Ihad done right by the community.’’
He said the coming week would involve meeting newly-elected councillors and discussing their goals for the community.
‘‘I want to remind the community that the mayor is only one vote, and the best outcome is for the council to collaborate and work together.’’
Some of the projects he wants to look at include the Aorangi Park stadium, road funding and the Theatre Royal.
One of the key projects for the future was a microfiltration plant at the Claremont water reservoir, he said.
Mr Bowen was looking forward to working with the new council, but said he wanted to thank former councillors Barbara Gilchrist, Steve Wills, Paddy O’Reilly and Richard Lyon for everything they had done over the years. Timaru ward councillors Stu Piddington, Peter Burt, Allan Booth and Sally Parker were all re-elected, along with newcomers Stacey Scott (who received 6090 votes) and Owen (OJ) Jackson (who received 5801 votes).
Messrs Wills, Lyon and O’Reilly did not stand for re-election. Mrs Gilchrist ran again, but polled seventh for six Timaru seats.
Mr Jackson said when he got the results call it was a huge relief.
He was really pleased at the numbers as he knew he would need 5000 or more votes to make it on to the council.
‘‘[From] having been involved in two other campaigns, one in 2016 where I didn’t miss out by too many votes and the by›election in 2017, where I got totally humiliated and I thought ‘that will never happen again’.’’
In 2016 he said he thought Caroline Bay needed a new playground, and that has been his focus for the past few years as chairman of the voluntary CPlay committee.
‘‘I had a long›term plan to gain the trust of the community and show them that I could do the job. It was also a chance to show the community that I am a man of my word.’’
He got into local politics through being a radio announcer in a small community, a role in which he talked about local issues all the time, he said.
‘‘I’m driven and passionate about these issues, and I love talking about [them]. I always tell people I am not a business person, I didn’t put my hand up for council for that. There are others round the table that can do that. But that does not mean I do not know how a business is run.’’
Mr Jackson said he wanted to bring anew set of eyes and new connections to the council as well as making sure that they follow through on promises.
One of the things he was concerned about and wants to address was how the New Zealand Government wants to centralise local assets.
‘‘I want to fight for local democracy and I want to be there for that fight.’’
Another concern he has is making Timaru more age-friendly through transport and housing. He also wants to help communities get projects over the line without as many budget blowouts.
‘‘We need to change the way we are approaching things, we are not a big community and we want to make sure we do the right thing by ratepayers. We need to get the community behind the projects and take some ownership.
Re›elected councillor Stu Piddington has managed to go from the lowest polling councillor of the Timaru Ward in 2019, with only 3772 votes, to the highest polling councillor this election with 6153 votes.
He said he was really pleased at the result and grateful that people voted for him.
Despite losing the mayoral race, Mr Piddington said he was really pleased with the results and put his name in the ring to give people a choice.
‘‘No›one else seemed keen and it’s good to challenge an incumbent so people are aware of other views. One quarter voted for me and three quarters voted for Mr Bowen, that’s just how democracy works.’’
He said it was great for Mr Bowen and believed he would do a good job and was good to work with.
Projects Mr Piddington wanted to get under way included the stadium as well as building projects like the art gallery and the Theatre Royal.
‘‘I want to bring clarity to the community, letting them know how long it will take and how much it will cost.’’
The Courier was unable to reach new councillor Stacey Scott prior to deadline.
