Hamilton City Council has 46 candidates confirmed to contest the 15 seats available in the upcoming elections.
The total number of candidates is higher than the elections in 2019 (42 candidates) and 2016 (45 candidates).
Eight people are running for the mayoral position, the same number as 2019. They are:
- Lee Bloor
- Lachlan Coleman
- Jack Gielen
- Horiana Henderson
- Riki Manarangi
- Donna Pokere-Phillips
- Paula Southgate
- Geoff Taylor
All but Bloor, Coleman and Southgate are also candidates for a ward position.
In the East Ward, 20 candidates will contest the six seats, the same number as 2019.
The 2022 East Ward candidates:
- Andrew Bydder
- Anna Casey-Cox
- Mark Donovan
- Jack Gielen
- Ryan Hamilton
- Horiana Henderson
- Jess Hona
- Amy-Leigh Hopa
- Peter Humphreys
- Jason Jonassen
- Russelle Sonya Knaap
- Ross Macleod
- Riki Manarangi
- Raymond Mudford
- Kesh Naidoo-Rauf
- Jenny Nand
- Jacqui Stokes
- Jake Tait
- Tania Temoni-Syme
- Maxine van Oosten
In the West Ward, 17 candidates have put their name forward for the six seats. This compares to 19 candidates who stood in 2019.
The 2022 West Ward candidates:
- Dave Boyd
- Rudi du Plooy
- Jose Gonzalez
- Louise Hutt
- Sanjay Joshi
- Dhirendra Kumar Naresh
- Angela O’Leary
- Emma Pike
- Shanti Ralm
- Matthew Small
- Melissa Smith
- Dan Steer
- Roger Stratford
- Geoff Taylor
- Sarah Thomson
- Michael West
- Ewan Wilson
There are six pootae (hat) in the waka vying for two new and historic seats in the Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward:
- Melaina Huaki
- Maatai Ariki Kauae Te Toki
- Donna Pokere-Phillips
- James Ratana
- Moko Tauariki
- Te Pora Thompson
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone standing,” said Council Chief Executive Lance Vervoort.
“It takes commitment, courage and genuine care for Hamilton Kirikiriroa to put your hand up for public office.”
“In the final 24 hours, nine nominations rolled in, and our Governance team has worked tirelessly to review and process each detailed application.
“It’s now up to voters to get familiar with the candidates who all want to make really important decisions for your city and its future.
“These include everyday decisions about how people move around the city, how we operate our community facilities, through to how we (Council) manage rates and plan and pay for everything the city needs.
“Take the time to read our Pre-Election Report to truly understand the scale of what these candidates are up for.
“It’s also really important people understand the new voting system and how they’ll rank the candidates that will represent them best.”
The new Single Transferable Voting (STV) system means Hamilton City Council voters need to rank their preferred candidates from 1 for their favourite, 2 for the next and so on.
Candidate profiles will be online at yourcityelections.co.nz from late August.
Candidates are being asked a set of questions on their election platform, such as their top priorities for the next three years, their thoughts on Hamilton’s biggest opportunity to mitigate climate change, and what qualities they can bring to Council that will help Hamilton Kirikiriroa thrive. Find an upcoming event on Council’s website to meet the candidates.
Voting packs will start to arrive in the post between Friday 16 September and Wednesday 21 September (unless you need to cast a special vote).
Voting closes at midday on Saturday 8 October.
