Time’s running out for those wanting to help lead the district over the next three years.
By Mountain Scene deadline yesterday there were not enough candidates in the Whakatipu to form a full council.
If that remains the case by noon tomorrow, all of those who have been nominated in the Arrowtown-Kawarau and Queenstown-Whakatipu wards will be automatically elected, and a by-election, to cost about $60,000, will be required to fill the remaining seats.
While the mayoralty race is heating up — Al Angus is back for his fourth crack, having also stood in 2013, 2016 and 2019, while existing councillor Glyn Lewers’ nomination’s also officially in, as is Start Up Queenstown CEO Olivia Wensley and Wanaka’s Daniel Shand’s — it is, so far, a walk-in for all other nominees.
At deadline yesterday, there was one candidate standing for the three-seat Arrowtown-Kawarau ward — Lisa Guy, whose background is in HR.
There were four candidates for the four-seat Queenstown-Whakatipu ward — there would need to be at least one more to trigger an election.
One-term councillor Niki Gladding and Esther Whitehead, appointed following a by-election last year, have both got their nominations in.
Invercargill artist Stephen Chernishov is also standing in that ward, while simultaneously standing for a seat on the Southland District Council, and will contest the Invercargill City Council mayoralty, having been unsuccessful in his bid there in 2019.
The fourth candidate is Peter Newport, the sole director and shareholder of Crux Publishing Ltd, which owns Crux, of which he is managing editor.
The website’s been taken to the media council twice by Queenstown’s council and once by Queenstown Airport, a council-controlled trading organisation.
Last year, Crux sought for the Auditor-General to investigate council’s sale of the Lakeview site — in March that request was declined.
Newport’s media release announcing his run says Crux will develop ‘‘some clear policies that will define any reporting issues that need clarification’’.
He tells Scene he’s working with legal and media experts to explore any ‘‘actual or perceived issues that could arise’’.
Newport accepts it’s ‘‘unusual’’ for a working journalist to stand for council, but says he’s researched that ‘‘quite carefully’’ and doesn’t see any ‘‘fundamental conflict’’.
He also employs a news editor ‘‘who can, if required, produce QLDC news at arm’s-length from me, if there was ever a direct conflict’’.
