A margin of just 55 votes has seen incumbent mayor Craig Rowley secure a fifth successive term in the Waimate district.
Preliminary results showed that Mr Rowley had only just edged past his former deputy mayor Sharyn Cain 1070 votes to 1015, while Rick Stevens sat not too far behind on 777 votes.
Mr Rowley said he always knew it was going to be a close election.
‘‘She’s [Sharyn] done a huge amount of work and we’re very similar to each other in our views and policies.
‘‘It was always going to be very, very close but I was very pleased to get back in again.
‘‘I thank the voting public for putting me back in even if it is by a small margin. I’ll certainly give 100% as I always do to make sure that our district’s really well represented.’’
He said there were two big driving forces behind him seeking a fifth term.
‘‘The Three Waters was a big one. We’ve done a lot of work in that area over the last number of years and I would like to see a successful outcome for our ratepayers in that area around Three Waters.
‘‘The other one is just the landslide of reform that’s coming from central government and I think that that’s not going to let up over the next 12 to 18 months.
‘‘I want to make sure that our district is really well represented when it comes to those conversations.’’
Mr Rowley said he believed they had an outstanding table for the next three years.
‘‘Obviously Sharyn’s going to be a great loss to the table, she did an outstanding job as deputy mayor for the last 12 years and councillor before that, she’ll be very sorely missed.’’
He will once again be joined on the council table by incumbents Sandy McAlwee from the Pareora-Otaio-Makikihi ward, Lisa Small from the Lower Waihao ward (elected unopposed) as well as Waimate ward candidates Rick Stevens and John Begg.
Stacey Hall claimed the other Pareora-Otaio-Makikihi ward seat which had previously belonged to Tom O’Connor, who was standing for re-election before his death on August 6.
Paul Harrison was elected for the Hakataramea-Waihaorunga ward seat with incumbent Colin Pankhurst not standing.
Newcomers Peter Paterson and Jakki Guilford were also elected from the Waimate ward, taking the seats of Sharyn Cain, who ran only for mayor and Peter Collins, who had served as a councillor for the Waimate Ward for nine years but was not standing for re-election.
The voter return for the Waimate district was 52.35% at 2889, excluding special votes.
The new Waimate District Council will be sworn in on October 28.
