Jump in nominations for Ashburton District Council seats

The Team Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Two sitting councillors and three fresh faces have officially joined the race for a place on the next Ashburton District Council.

Leen Braam and Lynette Lovett have filed their nominations to run for another term while Hayden Tasker, Richard Wilson, and Bev Skates have come forward as new candidates.

With just over a week before nominations close, their names bring the total nominations to nine, with 10 seats needing to be filled or the district will bear the cost of a by-election.

Lovett and Wilson, the son of current councillor Stuart Wilson, are chasing the two vacancies in the eastern ward.

Tasker, the son of former councillor Bev Tasker and former deputy mayor Roger Tasker, joins former two-term councillor Russell Ellis in the Ashburton ward which has five vacancies to fill.

Carolyn Cameron has indicated she will stand, whereas John Falloon is yet to signal his intentions.

Incumbents Liz McMillan and Rodger Letham are in the running for the two vacancies in the western ward.

Mayor Neil Brown is looking likely to run unopposed.

Chris Robertson and Robert Harnett make it three nominations for the Braided Rivers Community Trust while there have been no nominations for the five Methven Community Board seats.

Ashburton District electoral officer Anthony Morton said that in the event that there are not enough or any nominations to cover the vacancies, those that have been correctly nominated will be declared elected unopposed and no election process is required.

“A by-election process is then started in November to seek candidates for any remaining vacancies,” Morton said.

The organisations requiring by-elections have to meet the costs he said.

“The cost of the by-elections would largely be determined by the number of nominations subsequently received and whether a voting process was then required.”

In Selwyn, the race is on in the Malvern ward with six nominations in for the two vacancies.

Incumbents Jenny Gallagher and Bob Mugford are nominated along with Andrea Clemens, Lydia Gliddon, Samantha Samuel, and Samuel Wilshire.

Only one name is down for mayor and it’s not Sam Broughton who has confirmed he is running for a third term but is yet to file his paper work.

He will come up against Calvin Payne, who is also the only nomination for the three-seat Rolleston ward.

Sitting Councillor Shane Epiha is the lone name in the Ellesmere ward, and there have been no nominations yet for the Springs ward.

Meanwhile in the Environment Canterbury Mid Canterbury/Ōpākihi ward, incumbent councillors John Sunckell and Ian Mackenzie have filed their nominations.

They join NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers president Peter Trolove as confirmed candidates.

Nominations close at midday on August 12.