Candidate nominations open for local body elections

Local government candidate nominations open today, and Horizons Regional Council are calling for a diverse range of candidate nominees to stand for the regional council.

Electoral Officer Craig Grant says local body elections provide the opportunities for communities around the Horizons Region to vote for their preferred representative on Horizons Regional Council, city and district councils, and district health boards.
 
Horizons are responsible for managing the region’s land, air and water resources on behalf of the communities we serve. This is achieved through following rules and policies outlined in our regulatory document, the One Plan, and through a number of non-regulatory programmes such as Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI).
 
We also undertake biosecurity control and biodiversity enhancement, contract passenger transport services, plan regional transport, play an important role in road safety education, work to mitigate the risk and impact of flooding, undertake science, data and monitoring, and lead the planning for and response to natural disasters to help keep people and property safe. Elected candidates make decisions for the community, and set Horizons’ rates which contribute towards these programmes.
 
“The Horizons Region is vast, spreading from Ruapehu in the north, to Whanganui in the west, Tararua in the east, and Horowhenua in the south; our communities are hugely varying in their opinions and needs. Having a diverse council will help to ensure the needs are being represented come decision-making time,” explains Mr Grant.
 
“Successful elected candidates can come from all walks of life and are likely to be effective decision makers and communicators who are able to relate to a wide range of people, good at building relationships and networking, and have good time flexibility and management.”
 
Candidate nominees must be a New Zealand citizen and be on the parliamentary electoral roll.
 
Nomination forms, along with information handbooks are available for download.
 
Nominations close 12 noon, 16 August 2019.