Tasman mayor Tim King will stand at this year’s local body election, he has confirmed.
It comes as the first challengers for his job emerge, including former real estate agent Mike Harvey and St Arnaud farmer Richard Osmaston.
Tim says his first term as mayor has been “phenomenally tricky” with the Covid-19 pandemic, the government’s Three Waters proposal and cost overruns on the Waimea Community Dam. But he says the support he has had from the community has convinced him to run again.
“I don’t think I could have picked a more difficult term to be mayor but I’ve been bloody lucky with the support I’ve had from this group of councillors and the community, it’s been great.
“There will be challenges this [next] term, hopefully different challenges but jeez, you never know.”
Tim had 12 years as deputy mayor before being elected to the mayoralty in 2019. He says he’s never been much of a campaigner and said there wouldn’t be much of one this year either.
“I enjoy governance, I don’t really enjoy politics or campaigning,” he says.
“I’ve also done this a long time so I don’t think I’m change people’s minds in the next six weeks [before the election] on whetherthey think I’ve done a good job or not.”
In 2019, Tim beat three other challengers to the job. This year two have confirmed their intention to run. Osmaston is a member of the Money Free Party, which advocates for no longer using money. He is also standing for mayor in five other regions; Nelson, Marlborough, Buller Westland and Grey.
Harvey is the former owner of several real estate companies and developer of the Yelsa real estate tool. He says his top focus, should he be elected, would be to change the culture at the council.
“They don’t listen to the community at all so no wonder people in the community are frustrated. They just want to be heard… that’s democracy and we don’t have it.”
He says he’s “not a politician” but a businessman and his top priority will be making the council more user-friendly.
“I will have a business card that says ‘I am your mayor, I am a public servant, I am here to serve you.”
He says he’s against building on greenspace and instead would rather the council gave cost breaks for people to subdivide existing properties in Richmond. He describes himself as “very green” and is against the decision to build the Waimea Community Dam but says that “there’s no point looking back” now that it’s built.
Speaking about the current mayor Tim King, before King announced his re-election bid, Harvey said he’d like him to be his deputy.
“I like Tim, I think he’s a really nice guy and that he has really good intentions and I hope if he stands he stands as a councillor, and if he did I would nearly almost guarantee that he’d be my deputy. He’d be a huge asset to me because he would help me understand some historical stuff. I’ll hear what he has to say but I’ll make my own decision.”
Nominations for council are open until August 12.
