The 2022 Gisborne District Council election was a local election held from 16 September to 8 October in the Gisborne District of New Zealand as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters elected thirteen district councillors for the 2022–2025 term of the Gisborne District Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system were used.

Key dates

30 June: Electoral Commission enrolment campaign starts.

First week of July: Enrolment update packs sent by Electoral Commission to electors.

12 August: Enrolment closes for the printed electoral roll.

16–21 September: Voting documents sent to all enrolled voters by local councils.

4 October: Last day to post ballot to ensure delivery.

7 October: Last day to enrol to vote.

8 October: Polling day — The voting documents must be at the council before voting closes at midday/12:00pm.

Background

Voting system The election was the first in the district held under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. This meant that voters ranked candidates and if no candidate cleared the necessary threshold the bottom polling candidate's vote was tallied out to the other candidates based on those rankings, this process continuing until all positions were filled.

Campaign

Mayoral candidates Incumbent first-term mayor Rehette Stoltz ran for a second term, having cruised to victory against councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown in 2019 with over 10,000 votes. Born in South Africa she moved to New Zealand in 2001 and later settled in Gisborne. She was first elected to council in 2010 and was previous mayor Meng Foon's deputy. When Foon stepped down Stoltz took up the role of mayor for the period in 2019 before that year's election.

Akuhata-Brown said of Stoltz (when asked whether she would stand again for mayor) that because of Stoltz's background she would find it hard to understand issues affecting Māori, and that because she fit the image of what people expect a mayor to look like that "There's no fight for the position [of mayor], it's handed to her." Akuhata-Brown later apologised for her comments.

Colin Alder was also a candidate; a semi-retired organic farmer, he had never run for office previously. He joined the race because of the actions of Trust Tairawhiti, the local regional development agency. He said he was angry that they were "..putting all their eggs in those baskets and [that] they're selling the cash cow, steady income, rock-solid serve the people business", referring to electricity network asset sales and their focus on "high-risk ventures like forestry."

Darin Brown, another candidate, told Radio New Zealand: "I am not an anti-vaxxer, no way am I an anti-vaxxer, I'm just a pro-choicer, that's it." He had concerns that the council focused too much on vanity projects. A photo surfaced of Brown wearing a hazmat suit defaced with drawings of a swastika and genitalia. The photo was taken around the time of the first lockdown, and Brown claimed to have actually warn it to the supermarket as a protest of the central government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown was adamant he wasn't a Nazi or white supremacist.

A fluent speaker of te reo Māori, Rhonda Tibble said that she was running because "it's time that tangata whenua occupy this space and that we also have the opportunity to flex muscle in the bi-cultural nature of New Zealand and also the diverse nature of New Zealand." Housing was a key issue for her. General ward candidates Mayoral candidate Darin Brown's wife Jen Brown stood for the general ward. She had attended the anti-mandate and anti-lockdown protests in Wellington earlier that year, which councillor Wharehinga criticised her for. She was anti-vaccine rollout for children and had made posts critical of a transgender swimmer who competed against "biological" women. She rejected the label anti-vax, preferring the term pro-choice. She said she was "definitely not" racist or a right winger, pointing to her husband being Māori as evidence of this claim. She claimed to have taken a test that said she was a "leftist liberal". She confirmed she was a member of Voices for Freedom.

Candidates Ben Florance and Leighton Packer had also attended the Wellington protests. Florance shared posts on social media that accused Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of having total control of the media. He had previously worked in the military and the Salvation Army. Packer had labelled gay activists as clowns in social media posts, saying that they had been counter-protestors at Wellington and that they had taken actions inappropriate for children to witness.

Peter Jones, another candidate, complained that no party in Parliament represented his COVID denialist beliefs, him having labelled the pandemic a "scam".

Campaign events Almost 100 people attended a campaign event on 22 August at Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae, with 28 candidates making an appearance. Topics of discussion included whether candidates supported the Eastland Network sale, and their opininons on key land issues, the road network, the introduction of a Māori ward and how to secure funding from the central government.

Results

Mayor

Stoltz was re-elected to a second term. Talking to Local Democracy Reporting she said "I'm very, very happy and excited about the term ahead of us." Stoltz went on to say her major focus would be on issues such as the Resource Management Act review, Three Waters, and the Future of Local Government Review.The results as declared on 14 October 2022: +Affiliation Candidate Iteration Votes received StatusNoneRehette Stoltz18,00954.34Re-electedNoneColin Alder12,94319.97NoneRhonda Tibble12,58317.53NoneDarin Brown19696.57Informal350.24Blank1981.34Turnout14,738

Council

Tairāwhiti General Ward The General Ward saw three new councillors elected whilst incumbent three-term councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown failed to be re-elected.

The results as declared on 14 October 2022: +AffiliationCandidateIterationVotes receivedStatusNoneJosh Wharehinga11921.00Re-electedNoneColin Alder11639.00ElectedNoneLarry Foster201184.60Re-electedNoneRob Telfer221169.44ElectedNoneAndy Cranston231201.50Re-electedIndependentDebbie Gregory251162.23Re-electedNoneTony Robinson361170.18Re-electedNoneTeddy Thompson481069.99ElectedIndependentMeredith Akuhata-Brown481022.52Not re-electedNoneJen Brown35669.86NoneCharlie Reynolds28555.81NoneTina Karaitiana22411.51NoneBen Florance21383.20NoneAlistarmalcolm Mckellow19332.63NoneJordan Walker17322.58IndependentMoera Brown15245.82NoneFrank Murphy14211.83NoneRachel Lodewyk13199.54NoneHine Moeke-Murray11170.17NoneLeighton Packer10141.42NoneJulian Tilley9134.22NonePeter Jones7108.74NoneGareth Mill699.15IndependentDennis Pennefather473.25NoneMike Page346.00Informal503Blank125Turnout11,081

Tairāwhiti Māori Ward The new Māori Ward saw five first-term councillors elected.

The results as declared on 14 October 2022:+AffiliationCandidateIterationVotes receivedStatusNoneRhonda Tibble1844.00ElectedNoneAubrey Ria11602.30ElectedNoneNick Tupara13618.95ElectedIndependentAni Pahuru-Huriwai17578.05ElectedNgati PorouRawinia Parata18568.22ElectedNoneDarin Brown18389.81NoneIan Procter16316.42NoneJody Toroa12245.69IndependentChris Haenga10226.30NoneAgnes Walker8199.66NoneMarijke Warmenhoven6131.46NoneHarawira Pearless5123.64NoneAthena Emmerson3118.67Informal60Blank76Turnout3,650

Aftermath

Notes

References