Dunedin’s Local Elections are underway, with nominations opening on July 15. Nominations close on August 12, with election day set for Saturday October 8 at noon.
With only 10 days having passed since the nominations, it is understood that more people will decide to run for the position of mayor (currently held by Dave Cull) or one of the fourteen councillor positions.
The council is encouraging anyone who is currently considering running for council to do so, and has organised an information evening to allow those individuals, and anyone else who is interested more generally, to have an insight into how the council operates and what is expected from councillors and community board members. Council Chief Executives Sue Bidrose (Dunedin City Council) and Peter Boedeker (Otago Regional Council) will be presenting the information, with nomination forms and information on campaigning being of particular relevance.
Anyone over the age of 18 can stand in the election, provided they are a New Zealand citizen and are enrolled to vote themselves.
Dave Cull is running for re-election in what would be his third term, having been elected for the mayoralty in 2010 and reelected in 2013. His focus in his current term, according to his DCC profile on the DCC website, has been “strengthening the community and the economic capacity of the city.” The result of the forthcoming election will likely determine the success or failure of these focuses.
Aaron Hawkins, the current Central Ward councillor, elected as a representative of the Green Party, who is just one of the people who has decided to contest Dave Cull’s re-election. His main policies are making Dunedin the first living wage city in New Zealand as well as the introduction of a Dunedin Dollar—see page seven for more information.
Otago Polytechnic student activist Scout Barbour-Evans will also be challenging Cull’s mayoralty as well as for a position on the council. Scout told the ODT that they care “very deeply about equality, human rights, sustainability, accessible health care and education, and animal rights.”