Small-town surge tops growth of Taranaki council contestants
Photo:
Supplied / Te Korimako o Taranaki
Candidates have tripled in contests for Inglewood and Waitara's general wards, and Stratford's Māori ward, spotlighting stronger competition for Taranaki seats in this year's local elections.
Most wards and constituencies have more candidates than 2022, countering the trend of ever-lower engagement with local democracy.
Only Hemi Haddon had his hand up for the Stratford District Council Māori ward, until David Chadwick and Karley Hemopo joined the race, before nominations closed on Friday.
Clive Tongaawhikau, the sole candidate in 2022, resigned recently, due to heavy community and whānau obligations.
Likewise, Inglewood's New Plymouth District councillor Marie Pearce is retiring, after taking Kōhanga Moa ward unopposed last time.
Mayoral aspirant Sarah Lucas will scrap it out with Jeremy Brooking and Christine Fabish to replace Pearce.
Councillor Tony Bedford is calling it quits, after two terms for New Plymouth District's North ward, which has gained four extra candidates to have six contenders for one seat.
North ward candidates include Gina Blackburn, Ngāti Mutunga's representative on NPDC's committee Te Huinga Taumatua.
In 2022, 10 South Taranaki District councillors were elected unopposed, nullifying votes in all four general wards - Te Hāwera ward even needed a by-election to fill its last seat.
In 2025, all but the Pātea general ward are contested.
In a rematch for South Taranaki's Te Kūrae ward, sitting councillor Leanne Horo last time won double the votes of Caroline Waiwiri.
Sole candidate Cheryl Luke-Maraki is elected unopposed to Te Tai Tonga ward, so Māori roll voters there get a single vote for two-term South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon or challenger Clem Coxhead.
Similarly, Stratford District's rural ward has four candidates for four seats, so the countrydwellers only get a mayoral vote, as councillor Jono Erwood takes on incumbent Neil Volzke, pitching for his sixth term.
New Plymouth's Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa is again a [www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/566101/te-waka-mcleod-facing-peter-moeahu-for-new-plymouth-maori-ward two-horse race, with sitting councillor Te Waka McLeod] up against Peter Moeahu, who serves on several Taranaki council committees.
Across all New Plymouth wards, there are 37 candidates, six more than 2022.
All Taranaki Regional Council general wards are contested, but the candidate count has dropped by four to 20.
The TRC chamber has been a bearpit this term, with a fierce fight for freshwater and a Treaty debate shutdown found to be "severely damaging" - all while government ministers discuss abolishing regional councils.
As Wellington rebalances freshwater and resource rules to favour the dairy industry, the battle between the farmer lobby and environmentalists will play out in TRC constituencies.
Dinnie Moeahu was the only tangata whenua councillor voted on to a Taranaki general ward in 2022.
Photo:
Supplied / Te Korimako o Taranaki
Climate justice campaigner Urs Signer will go head-to-head with dairy stalwarts Donna Cram and Neil Walker - just two South Taranaki constituency seats are up for grabs.
Walker hopes to extend his time at the table to 30 years, despite being undermined by a scathing report about his plot to quash debate on the Treaty principles bill.
The single-seat North Taranaki constituency has three farm-sector candidates versus two environmentalists.
Eco-advocates Tama Blackburn and Chris Wilkes face four-term sitting councillor and fertiliser manager Mike Davey, Farmlands store manager Lee Kennedy and Taranaki Federated Farmers president Leedom Gibbs - who's the Feds' appointee to TRC's powerful Policy and Planning committee.
Another new contender for TRC is Spotswood College principal Nicola Ngarewa - sister of Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, who was South Taranaki deputy mayor, before becoming Te Tai Hauāuru MP.
Also up for TRC's New Plymouth constituency is former National MP Jonathan Young, son of even more former National MP Venn Young.
Bonita Bigham is again the sole candidate for the Māori constituency at TRC, so she'll be back for what might be the seat's last hurrah.
Most
Māori wards and constituencies
, including the five at Taranaki's four councils, face extinction in this year's ballot.
The government changed the law to mandate referendums, saying it would give communities a vote on a significant change to local democracy - and fulfilling National's coalition deals with Act and NZ First.
No other type of [www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/478732/maori-wards-did-not-inspire-voters-what-next-to-boost-democracy ward can be voted down].
In 2022, Taranaki general ward voters elected just one Māori councillor - Dinnie Moeahu for New Plymouth's district-wide ward.
Māori are more than 20 percent of the Taranaki population and hold four percent of general roll council seats.
The five Māori wards take tangata whenua representation to 14 percent of all seats.
All candidate lists are provisional and subject to confirmation next week.
- LDR is local body reporting funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
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