Invercargill City Council’s new Mayor, 71-year-old Nobby Clark, has made his first official act a gesture of thanks.
The polls for the local government election 2022 closed on Saturday and preliminary results showed Mr Clark (pictured with long-serving Mayor, Sir Tim Shadbolt) was the clear winner of the mayoralty race with 7,260 votes, almost 3,000 ahead of the next candidate.
Mr Clark will take over from long-serving Invercargill Mayor, Sir Tim Shadbolt.
“It would be impossible for me to say anything other than thank you to Sir Tim Shadbolt,” Mr Clark said on Monday.
Sir Tim Shadbolt is New Zealand’s longest-serving Mayor, with his mayoralty spanning more than 24 years.
His tenure saw Stadium Southland and the SIT Velodrome built, and he ardently campaigned for the Zero Fees scheme at the Southern Institute of Technology.
“The mutual affection between Sir Tim and Invercargill not only meant that the city had a famous champion but also provided the community with a Mayor who was just as happy coming along to a local playgroup as to a civic reception,” Mr Clark said.
“Sir Tim has also been here for me when I have had personal family issues and I have appreciated his support.”
Clark said he was looking forward to getting into the Mayoral role, working with his new Council and alongside staff to push ahead on key issues for the community.
“I also want to thank the community and the people of Invercargill who have put their faith in me. I pledge to keep that faith and do our city proud as Mayor,” he said.
The new Council will be sworn in to their positions on Thursday 20 October.
