The final results are in, after a dead-heat race to the finish line.
Polls for local body elections throughout New Zealand closed at midday on Saturday, 11 October.
While Tom Campbell was named the Invercargill city’s new Mayor, and several Councillors were confirmed, following the release of preliminary results earlier this week, Invercargill’s newest batch of elected members had a nervous wait until all special votes had been counted.
Invercargill City Council Deputy Electoral Officer Michael Morris said the final results – released just after 6pm today – confirmed that Allan Arnold, Andrea De Vries, Lisa Tou McNaughton and Barry Stewart had taken out the final few remaining spots around the 12-seat Council table, with 6,105, 5,920, 5,816 and 5,710 votes, respectively.
They will join Councillors Steve Broad, Alex Crackett, Grant Dermody, Marcus Lush, Trish Boyle, Darren Ludlow, Ria Bond, and Ian Pottinger.
Mayor-Elect Campbell said he would announce his new Deputy Mayor and Committee Chairs in the coming days.
“It has been an anxious wait for a few of them, so it’s great to now be able to officially congratulate those successfully elected to the Invercargill City Council and Bluff Community Board. I also want to extend a special congratulations to those who have been chosen by the people to lead our community for the first time. I know what an immense honour and privilege that is,” he said.
“I also want to sincerely thank and acknowledge past elected members – your dedication and service has helped shape the strong, resilient, and innovative community we are today.”
Campbell said he was looking forward to settling into his new role and getting to work quickly.
“I have an enormous amount of gratitude to have been chosen by the people of our community to represent them as Mayor. Thank you for placing your trust in me, and in our new Council. Your voice is at the heart of every decision we make and together, I am confident we will continue to build a community that reflects our shared values, supports our residents, and grows opportunities to thrive for generations to come.”
Morris said a whopping 904 special votes were cast this time around, compared to just 594 at the same time in the 2022 Elections.
Jo Eruera, Justin Sutherland, Ray Fife, Haylee Simeon, and Frazer Murdoch had been confirmed as elected to the Bluff Community Board.
Meanwhile, Paddy O’Brien, Suzanne Prentice, Angela Newell, Graham Hawkes, and Sheree Carey would all return to the Invercargill Licensing Trust. They would also be joined by new member Nick Jeffrey.
The new Council would be sworn-in on Tuesday, 28 October. The first Council meeting would be held on Tuesday, 4 November, Morris said.
