Plenty of choice in election race

Plenty of choice in election race

The names are in and the race has begun for candidates in the October local body elections.

Any concern about a lack of candidates locally has been dispelled, with five vying for the single Ōtaki Ward role and seven putting their hand up for the four positions on the Ōtaki Community Board.

Elsewhere, six want to be mayor, nine are seeking one of the two district-wide roles, and six are contesting the single Māori Ward seat. There are nine nominations for the two Waikanae Ward seats, and six for the four Waikanae Community Board seats.

Meanwhile, incumbent Penny Gaylor has one rival, Sam Ferguson, for the Kāpiti seat at Greater Wellington Regional Council. Penny has been a two-term regional councillor; Sam has been a councillor for Horizons Regional Council – north of the Wellington region – for the past three years, recently moving to Kāpiti.

A wildcard among the other four well-known candidates for the Ōtaki Ward seat is Brent Frogley, who is part of the We Love Kāpiti group. Others are: Heniti Buick, chief executive of Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki; Ōtaki Community Board chair and canoe polo coach Cam Butler; current district-wide councillor and architect Rob Kofoed; and incumbent Shelly Warwick. At the last election, in 2022, only Chris Papps and Shelly Warwick contested the seat.

All the incumbents are seeking another term on the Ōtaki Community Board – Simon Black, Cam Butler (also seeking a role as Ōtaki Ward councillor), Jackie Elliott (also seeking a district-wide seat) and Chris Papps.

They are joined in the race by two relative unknowns – Sherril Moody and Rhyna Taratoa. But in the mix also is real estate agent Angela Buswell, who took time out from politics in this last term after serving as a district-wide councillor.

Seats at the Waikanae Community Board are being contested by Tonchi Begovich, Peter Bollmann, Phil Byrne, Richard Mansell, John McCormick and current chair Michael Moore.

Nine are seeking one of the two Waikanae Ward seats – Peter Bollmann, Steven Botica, Phil Byrne, Martin Frauenstein, Dean Harris, Chris Maclean, and Michael Moore – along with incumbents  Jocelyn Prvanov and Nigel Wilson.

 Five other candidates want to take the mayoralty from Janet Holborow, who is standing again. They include current councillors Martin Halliday and Liz Koh. Back in the frame is Rob McCann, who ran a close second in the mayoral race in 2022. The other two are Dean Harris of We Love Kāpiti and independent Kim Hobson.

The contest for the Māori seat at the council table will be an interesting one, with Ōtaki’s Deanna Rudd seeking the job. Deanna is well known in Ōtaki and the wider community as an iwi engagement specialist.

Deanna will be up against Himiona Grace of Te Pati Māori, independent Rangi Halbert, Brian Ruawai-Hamilton of We Love Kāpiti, the Paraparaumu Māori Committee’s Jason Thurston, and Jordon Wansbrough.

The nine vying for the two district-wide councillor roles are: Grant Bartlett, Jackie Elliott, current deputy mayor Lawrence Kirby, current councillor Liz Koh, Rob McCann, Jo Turner, Joanne Welch, Gavin Welsh, and Marek Willis.