As a flood of last-minute nominations were filed and the dust has settled, the majority of the South Canterbury ward and community board positions will be decided with elections.
In the Timaru district, Peter Bennett, who stood for council in 2022, and two-term Timaru ward councillor Stu Piddington will challenge incumbent mayor Nigel Bowen for the position as he vies for a third term.
With Anne Munro not seeking re-election as Mackenzie district mayor due to health reasons, the seat is set to be hotly contested.
Deputy mayor Karen Morgan, who has been serving as acting mayor, is aiming to take the seat full-time but will be challenged by Pukaki ward councillor Scott Aronsen, former Environment Canterbury councillor Elizabeth McKenzie, 2022 Mackenzie district mayoral candidate Robin McCarthy and political newcomer Ash Jackson.
In the Waimate district, deputy mayor Sharyn Cain and Waimate ward councillor Rick Stevens will be going head-to-head with current mayor Craig Rowley, who is seeing re-election for a fifth term.
All ward and community board seats in the Timaru district will also require elections.
Contesting the Geraldine ward (one vacancy) are Philip Harper and encumbent Gavin Oliver, and in the running for the Pleasant Point-Temuka Ward (two vacancies) are incumbents Michelle Pye and Scott Shannon, and community board member Charles Scarsbrook.
Vying for the Timaru ward (six vacancies) are incumbents Peter Burt, Owen Jackson, Stu Piddington and Stacey Scott, and newcomers Anah Aikman, Peter Bennett, John Bolt, Ian Hanley, Stu Jackson, Sange Malama, Jason McDouall, Hadleigh Oudemans, Ethan Richardson, Chris Thomas, and Graeme Wilson.
Incumbent Timaru ward councillors Allan Booth and Sally Parker are not standing for re-election.
Seeking election for the Geraldine Community Board (six vacancies) are Helen Davidson, Jan Finlayson, Sarah Foley-Smith, Andy McKay, Shane Minnear, Kerry Stuart, Rachel Wilson and Rosemary Woods; standing for the Pleasant Point Community Board (five vacancies) are Leanne Fifield, Anna Lyon, Tezeh Mills, Cale Toomey, Amy-Lee Trainor and Kathy Wilkins; and running for the Temuka Community Board (five vacancies) are Kathy Campbell, John Jackson, Ann Jones, Jocelyn McNab McKay, Nicola Nimo, Charles Scarsbrook and Alison Talbot.
The Geraldine Licensing Trust (six vacancies) will be contested by Dan Cummings, Nicola Donkers, Angela T Haynes, Jo Hewson, Sally Houston, Ross Macleod, John Wilson and Rosemary Woods.
In the Mackenzie district, the Tekapo Community Board (four vacancies) will not require an election and will be filled by Barbara Nustrini, Anna Roseingrave, Brent Swanson and Simon Tocker, while the Twizel Community Board (four vacancies) has received nominations from Tony Hodges, Mary Murdoch and Katrina Te Rito, but is still one nomination short to fill the table.
The remaining ward and community board positions in the district will go to election.
Contesting the Pukaki ward (three vacancies) are incumbent Scott Aronsen and challengers Brian Finn, Christopher Hathaway, Frank Hocken, Peter Oliver and Jan Spriggs, and running for the Opuha Ward (three vacancies) are incumbents Rit Fisher and Phillipa Guerin, and newcomers Mark Adams, Ash Jackson and Elizabeth McKenzie.
The single Tekapo ward position will be filled by either Sue Allan or Maireire Norman, with no nomination for incumbent Matt Murphy, and vying for a Fairlie Community Board (four vacancies) seat are Simon Abbot, Simon Cassie, Gina Kilmister, Holly Lane-Hand, Jamie McMurtrie and Tom Whittaker.
In the Waimate district the Lower Waihao Ward position will be filled by incumbent Lisa Small while the remaining three ward seats will be decided with elections.
Going head-to-head for the single Hakataramea-Waihaorunga ward position are Paul Harrison and Margaret Wells, with incumbent Colin Pankhurst not standing.
Challenging for the Pareora-Otaio-Makikihi ward (two vacancies) are incumbents Sandy McAlwee and Tom O’Connor and challengers Jon Bird and Stacey Hall, and running for the Waimate ward (four vacancies) are incumbents John Begg and Rick Stevens — who is also running for mayor — and newcomers Shane Gregoran, Jakki Guilford, Peter Paterson, Brent Percy. Incumbent Sharyn Cain is tilting only at the mayoralty.
The two vacancies in the Environment Canterbury South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi regional constituency will be contested between incumbents Peter Scott and Nick Ward, and newcomer Toni Severin.
The local elections will be held from September 9 to October 11.
*At the time of publishing, the news of Pareora-Otaio-Makikihi ward councillor Tom O’Connor’s death on August 6 had not been shared.
