Successful council candidate inspired to stand after attending tragic road crash

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask;

A farmer inspired to stand after a roading tragedy will be sworn in as a new district councillor this week.

Rob Mackle was announced as the likely winner of the Western Ward by-election on Thursday.

The provisional result after voting closed at midday on Friday had Mackle out in front by a clear enough margin over the other candidates.

With 98% of ballots counted, Mackle was on 655 votes, well ahead of Hayden Tasker on 467, Dame Lynda Topp on 409, and Carol Johns on 126.

“I’m very humbled that the people have put their faith in me,” Mackle said.

“I’m looking forward to doing what I can for the area and hoping I can prove my worth.”

There will be little time for the farmer come first-time councillor to settle into the role as he will be sworn in at next week’s meeting.

“Obviously because I’m a bit green I’ve got a fair bit to learn, so it will be taking it all in for a start but keen to get stuck into it.

“No doubt I’ll get a lot of support from the council to get me up to speed so it doesn’t faze me at all.”

Mackle was inspired to pursue a council seat after being first on the scene of a fatal crash near Ashburton in 2019, where he performed CPR on an 8-month-old baby who later died in hospital.

“It rattled me quite a bit and I just thought I should be something a little bit more around the district.”

He said a core personal focus is to “see a lot more maintenance and repairs going on around the district”.

He is well aware the issue around funding increased roading improvements is a trickle-down effect from Wellington but is keen to “make enough noise to make it happen”.

As the success of his campaign sunk in yesterday, he offered commiserations to the other candidates after a “fair old battle”, and expects to see them all back on the nominations list in the next local body elections in 2025.

The by-election followed the sudden death of second-term councillor Rodger Letham in December.

Mackle will also sit on the Methven Community Board alongside fellow Western Ward councillor and deputy mayor Liz McMillan.

The voter turnout in the Western Ward, the vast majority of the area west of State Highway 1 to the southern alps incorporating Methven, Mayfield and Mt Somers, was lower than in last year’s election.

There were 1668 votes cast (excluding special votes and votes delivered after the ballot boxes closed at midday) equating to 38.89% of the eligible voters, down on the 53.47% turnout (2,316 votes) in October.