9 Sep 2025
Mayors to be elected unopposed
Voting papers are about to arrive for the local body elections, but for residents in two districts they won't include anything about a mayoral contest. The mayors of Manawatu, in the lower North Island, and Hurunui, in North Canterbury, will be elected unopposed. They see it as a sign of their districts seeking consistency, although one local government academic says it could actually signal apathy. Jimmy Ellingham reports.