Kaikōura Deputy Mayor Julie Howden (left) will stand down in October, while Mayor Craig Mackle will seek a third term. Photo: Andrew Spencer
Kaikōura's mayor is urging younger people to run at this year's local government elections to increase the age representation around the council table.
Currently, the coastal town's youngest councillor is 47 years old.
Mayor Craig Mackle, who is in his 50s, will seek a third term and wants young people to join him to help shape the region.
"We want to move forward, not backwards," Mackle said. "There is no point in sitting back and getting comfortable with the status quo."
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Kaikōura's youngest sitting councillor, Vicki Gulleford, joined with the mayor in calling for more young people to stand.
Gulleford said the biggest challenge was how to "fit council business around employment, lifestyle and family" to attract young people.
While two sitting councillors are in their 40s, most are in their 50s and 60s.
Gulleford wanted to be around the table "in whatever capacity".
Local Government NZ - the national body for councils - last year encouraged more young people to stand in October's local government elections.
At the 2022 election, only 14 percent of elected candidates were aged less than 40, despite making up nearly half the population.
Kaikōura's Julie Howden has confirmed she will step down after 12 years as a councillor and the last nine years as deputy mayor.
She was first appointed deputy mayor just days before the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in November 2016.
Then-Mayor Winston Gray approached Howden, who runs a Kaikōura bed and breakfast, to join forces with Mayoress Mary Gray to feed the emergency workers.
Howden chartered a plane and arranged for her brother to pick up food from her suppliers in Christchurch.
"My tip from my 12 years as a councillor would be not to bring your own opinions and think you are going to fix things," she said. "Remember you are not there for yourself, but for the people you represent."
Councillors John Diver and Kevin Heays will seek re-election, while Lisa Bond, Tony Blunt and Robby Roche are undecided.
Diver has served six terms on the council since 1998, including two terms as deputy mayor, and is considering a tilt at the mayoralty, after he lost narrowly to Mackle six years ago.
"I am gauging my level of support, before deciding whether to run [for mayor]."
He was pleased to see the Kaikōura Business Park approved last year, after it was first proposed more than 15 years ago.
"People underestimate the length of time it takes, but you are better to take your time and get good planning results."
Heays served as mayor from 2004-10, before stepping down. He was unsuccessful in his bid to take the mayoralty back three years ago, but was returned to the council table.
Bond is in her third term as a councillor.
"It has been a busy time and very rewarding, but I need time to decide whether I have another three years in me."
Blunt is in his fourth term on the council and said the councillors had pulled together in the last nine years.
"What we have achieved has probably been beyond our best hopes and aspirations, when you look back to the first few months after the earthquake."
Roche stood for mayor in 2019, losing to long-time friend Mackle, and said the council had achieved much during his two terms on the council, with several projects coming to fruition.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
