2022 Hawke's Bay local elections

2022 Hawke's Bay local elections

←  2019 8 October 2022 2025 →
Regional council election
Turnout	34,137 (39.2%)
Seats	11 Independents
Territorial authority elections
Wairoa	6 Independents
Hastings	14 Independents   1 Te Pāti Māori
Napier	10 Independents   2 WTfOT
Central HB	6 Independents
Mayoral elections
Council Previous Elected Wairoa Craig Little Hastings Sandra Hazlehurst Napier Kirsten Wise Central HB Alex Walker
Regional council Territorial authorities

The 2022 Hawke's Bay local elections were held on 8 October 2022 as part of the wider 2022 New Zealand local elections to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. These elections covered one regional council, four territorial authorities (city and district councils), a rural community board, and a licensing trust.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council used the first past the post system to elect 11 regional councillors for the 2022–2025 term.

Summary of results

Constituency	Incumbent [1]		Elected [2]
Māui ki te Raki	New constituency			Charles Lambert
Māui ki te Tonga	New constituency			Thompson Hokianga [a]
Wairoa		Charles Lambert		Di Roadley
Ahuriri/Napier		Niel Kirton
Ahuriri/Napier		Martin Williams
Ahuriri/Napier		Hinewai Ormsby
Heretaunga/Hastings		Rick Barker		Jock Mackintosh
Heretaunga/Hastings		Craig Foss		Sophie Siers
Heretaunga/Hastings		Jacqueline Taylor		Xan Harding
Ngaruroro		Jerf van Beek [a]
Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay		Will Foley [a]

Details

Māui ki te Raki Māori constituency

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Charles Lambert	988	51.89
None	Michelle McIlroy	789	41.44
Informal		2	0.11
Blank		162	8.51
Turnout		1,904

Wairoa general constituency

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Di Roadley	1,182	63.82
None	Apiata Tapine	534	28.83
Informal		0	0.00
Blank		183	9.88
Turnout		1,852

Ahuriri/Napier general constituency

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Niel Kirton	12,261	69.46
None	Martin Williams	11,446	64.84
None	Hinewai Ormsby	9,323	52.82
None	Mark Barham	6,362	36.04
Informal		5	0.02
Blank		651	3.69
Turnout		17,652

Heretaunga/Hastings general constituency

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Jock Mackintosh	7,604	59.74
None	Sophie Siers	7,132	56.03
Independent	Xan Harding	5,921	46.52
The Right Balance	Craig Foss	5,491	43.14
Protecting our native birds	Steve Gibson	4,381	34.42
Informal		18	0.14
Blank		487	3.82
Turnout		12,729

Wairoa District Council

2022 Wairoa mayoral election

← 2019 8 October 2022 2025 →

Candidate Craig Little Benita Cairns Party Independent Independent Popular vote 1486 780 Percentage 51.9% 27.2%

The Wairoa District Council used the first past the post system to elect 6 district councillors and 1 mayor for the 2022–2025 term.

Mayor

2022 Wairoa mayoral election ^[3]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Craig Little	1486	51.9
None	Benita Cairns	780	27.2
None	Simon Mutonhori	437	15.3
None	Murray Olsen	168	5.9
None	Jennifer Takuta-Moses	51	1.8
Informal: 3 Blank: 32 Total Voters: 2864 [4]

Council

Details

General ward election ^[3]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Denise Eaglesome-Karekare	1143	61.7
Independent	Jeremy Harker	1115	60.2
None	Roz Thomas	938	50.6
None	Hine Flood	650	35.1
None	Waipatu Winitana	466	25.2
Pahauwera Shearing Ltd	Ngaire Culshaw	353	19.1
None	Murray Olsen	329	17.8
Informal: 0 Blank: 32 Total Voters: 1852 [4]

Māori ward election ^[3]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Benita Cairns	672	66.4
None	Chaans Tumataroa-Clarke	577	57.0
None	Melissa Kaimoana	503	49.7
None	Danika Goldsack	373	36.9
None	Wayne Taylor	196	19.4
None	Jennifer Takuta-Moses	170	16.8
Informal: 0 Blank: 32 Total Voters: 1012 [4]

Napier City Council

2022 Napier mayoral election

← 2019 8 October 2022 2025 →
Turnout	18,451 (40.1%; 10.7 pp) [4]
Candidate Kirsten Wise Nigel Simpson Party Independent Independent Popular vote 9559 7466 Percentage 51.8% 10.4 pp 40.5%
Mayor before election Kirsten Wise Independent Elected mayor Kirsten Wise Independent

The Napier City Council used the first past the post system to elect 12 city councillors and 1 mayor for the 2022–2025 term.

Mayor

First-term mayor Kirsten Wise stood for re-election. Wise in an interview for NZHerald said she was concerned about housing in the region, water infrastructure, and community-to-council interactions. Kirsten had previously been a councillor for two terms. Wise aligned herself with the National Party in the same interview saying she would go with them if she ran for government, and that Three Waters "would be a huge step backwards". ^[5]

Wise had faced several challenges as mayor during her first term, including the 2019 Napier flood and the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[6]

First-term councillor for Taradale ward Nigel Simpson stood on the platform of change, as in his view "A significant number of opportunities [had] been missed". ^[6] Simpson described himself as "more liberal" and said he tended to be "somewhere between National and ACT". ^[7]

Since the previous triennial election, 2 council chief executives had resigned. According to RNZ, the council was divided on whether there were culture and leadership issues within the organisation. ^[8]

Controversy around Three Waters was a key issue in the lead up to the election. Three Waters refers to the three types of water requiring public management (namely stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater). The Sixth Labour Government had pushed a policy of centralising management of Three Waters, taking the power away from councils which many viewed as failing the task. Wise had previously mounted a campaign with other mayors in Hawke's Bay against central government policy amid concerns that locals had not been properly consulted. ^[9] Wise later admitted to confusing the numbers of the government's policy, claiming it was only a third of the funding the NCC was going to put towards the issue. ^[10]

There was also the issue of gang violence which Wise said she was "very concerned" about. ^[11]

2022 Napier mayoral election ^[12]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
Independent	Kirsten Wise	9559	51.8
Independent	Nigel Simpson	7466	40.5
None	John C Smith	948	5.1
Informal: 15 Blank: 413 Total Voters: 18451 [4]

Council

Details

Ahuriri ward ^[12]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Hayley Browne	1929	49.3
None	Keith Price	1902	48.6
Independent	Louise Burnside	1154	29.5
Law and Order	Karl Goodchile	1111	28.4
Independent	Leanne Cotter-Arlidge	737	18.8
Informal: 27 Blank: 59 Total Voters: 3910 [4]

Onekawa-Tamatea ward ^[12]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
Working together for Onekawa/Tamatea	Richard McGrath	1903	71.4
Working together for Onekawa/Tamatea	Annette Brosnan	1853	69.6
None	Te Kira Lawrence	780	29.3
Informal: 1 Blank: 48 Total Voters: 2664 [4]

Nelson Park ward ^[12]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
Working with you, for you	Greg (Grego) Mawson	2298	68.4
Supporting the community	Maxine Boag	2142	63.7
Capable-Collaborative-Community minded	Sally Crown	1851	55.1
None	Juliet Greig	1767	52.6
None	Nigel Olsen	1123	33.4
None	Liz Gear	428	12.7
Informal: 2 Blank: 67 Total Voters: 3362 [4]

Taradale ward election ^[12]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
Team Taradale	Graeme K Taylor	5909	69.4
Independent	Nigel Simpson	5825	68.4
Independent	Ronda Chrystal	5121	60.1
None	Chad Tareha	4181	49.1
None	Maria Roberts	3309	38.9
Informal: 1 Blank: 127 Total Voters: 8515

Hastings District Council

2022 Hastings mayoral election

←  2019 8 October 2022 2025 →

Candidate Sandra Hazlehurst Party Independent Popular vote uncontested

The Hastings District Council used the first past the post system to elect 15 district councillors, 6 Flaxmere Licensing Trust members, 4 Rural Community Board members, and 1 mayor for the 2022–2025 term.

Mayor

Sandra Hazlehurst was re-elected uncontested. ^[13]

Council

Details

Hastings-Havelock North ward ^[13]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Eileen Lawson	7135	62.1
Delivering housing and employment	Wendy Schollum	7027	61.1
None	Malcolm Dixon	6530	56.8
None	Michael Fowler	6508	56.6
None	Kevin Watkins	6086	52.9
None	Harvey Damon	5234	45.5
None	Simon J H Nixon	4749	41.3
None	Rizwaana (Riz) Latiff	3585	31.2
None	Melanie Lorraine Petrowski	3221	28.0
None	Gilly Lawrence	2614	22.7
None	Rion Roben	2601	22.6
People and place - He tāngata, he wāhi	Alex Cameron	2422	21.1
None	Sayeed Ahmed	2187	19.0
None	Kim Priest	2149	18.7
Informal: 24 Blank: 56 Total Voters: 11498 [4]

Flaxmere ward ^[13]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Henry Heke	376	40.3
Mike for Flaxmere	Michael Ngahuka	279	29.9
None	Marcelle Raheke	156	16.7
None	Victoria Fuata'i	85	9.1
Informal: 7 Blank: 21 Total Voters: 934 [4]

Kahurānaki ward ^[13]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Marcus Buddo	882	55.7
A Strong Voice for Kahurānaki	John Roil	687	43.4
Informal: 0 Blank: 14 Total Voters: 1583

Takitimu Māori ward ^[13]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Ana Apatu	963	60.1
Consult, Create & Execute	Kellie Jessup	776	48.5
None (Te Pāti Māori [14] )	Renata Nepe	666	41.6
None	Dallas Rahui Te Ahuru Adams	549	34.3
Independent	Sarah Greening-Smith	438	27.4
None	Kiri Goodspeed	388	24.2
None	Hohepa Cooper	318	19.9
Informal: 0 Blank: 0 Total Voters: 1601 [4]

Flaxmere Licensing Trust

The Flaxmere Licensing Trust has six members. As the number of nominations received did not exceed the number of vacancies, Martha Greening, Chrissy Hokianga, Bronwen Hopkins, Warwick Howie, Farley Keenan, and Bert Lincoln were declared elected. ^[13]

Rural Community Board

Details

The Poukawa community subdivision returned one board member to the Rural Community Board.

Poukawa community subdivision ^[13]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
None	Vicki Scoular	505	48.8
None	Lilly Lawson	417	40.3
Informal: 0 Blank: 112 Total Voters: 1035 [4]

Central Hawke's Bay District Council

2022 Central Hawke's Bay mayoral election

← 2019 8 October 2022 2025 →

Candidate Alex Walker Party Independent Popular vote uncontested

The Central Hawke's Bay District Council used the first past the post system to elect 8 district councillors and 1 mayor for the 2022–2025 term.

Mayor

Alex Walker was re-elected uncontested. ^[15]

Council

Details

Ruataniwha ward ^[15]

Affiliation	Candidate	Votes	%
Your voice, our community	Pip Burne	1964	82.1
Your Local Voice at the Council table	Gerard Minehan	1934	80.9
None	Kelly Annand	1703	71.2
The voice of your generation	Exham Wichman	1324	55.4
None	Kaye Harrison	972	40.6
Informal: 1 Blank: 2 Total voters: 2392 [4]

Notes

1. uncontested

References

1. "Hawke's Bay Regional Council - Our Councillors". Hawke's Bay Regional Council. 5 October 2022. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
2. "2022 Local Government elections - declaration of results". Hawke's Bay Regional Council. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
3. "2022 Declaration of Results for the Wairoa District Council Elections". Wairoa District Council. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
4. "Local Authority Election Statistics 2022". Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs. 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
5. Franco, Ellie (24 August 2022). "Local Focus: Kirsten Wise on Candidate Camera". NZHerald. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
6. Laing, Doug (27 June 2022). "Napier mayoral candidate calls for change in culture and leadership". Hawke's Bay Today - NZHerald. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
7. "2022 Local Government elections - declaration of results". Hawke's Bay Regional Council. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
8. Kitchin, Tom (8 September 2022). "Napier councillors divided over leadership issues after successive CEO exits". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
9. Kitchen, Tom (10 June 2022). "Hawke's Bay councils mount campaign about Three Waters legislation". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
10. Kitchin, Tom (6 October 2022). "Napier mayor admits Three Waters numbers mistake". Hawke's Bay Today - NZHerald. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
11. Sadler, Rachel (22 January 2020). "Napier mayor Kirsten Wise appeals to local leaders to help resolve rising gang violence". Newshub. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
12. "Napier City Council 2022 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Napier City Council. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
13. "Hastings District Council 2022 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Hastings District Council. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
14. "Special shout out to our very own Te Pāti Māori candidates for their success;". Te Pāti Māori via Instagram. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
15. "Central Hawke's Bay District Council 2022 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT" (PDF). Central Hawke's Bay District Council. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-03.