Will he, won’t he? Ashburton mayor to decide future by March

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Neil Brown has yet to decide if he will stand for a third term as Ashburton mayor.

A year out from the next local body elections, none of the elected members have confirmed their names will be on the ballot.

The next local body elections will be held on October 11, 2025, with candidate nominations opening on July 4 and closing on August 1.

Brown, who celebrated 20 years of service to the Ashburton District Council this week, said he is yet to decide on standing for a third term, but has a timeframe in mind.

“I haven’t made a decision yet.

“I will probably mull it over during the Christmas break and make a decision by early March.”

Making an announcement a few months before nominations open will help other potential candidates with their planning and decision whether to run, he said.

Only two of the other elected members indicated it was likely they would stand again, but they stopped short of confirming it.

Deputy mayor Liz McMillan said she has been thinking about it and “there is a high chance I’ll stand again”.

“A year is a long time and you never know what can change.”

Councillor Russell Ellis, in his third term on the council, said he was “90% sure I’ll be standing”.

With the effects of long Covid finally fading, councillor Leen Braam said he is bouncing back, and “there is a lot of things to do before making any decision” to stand again.

Councillor Lynette Lovett said she planned to make a decision early next year on whether to run for a fourth term.

It is the same for second-term councillor Carolyn Cameron and the four first-term councillors.

Rob Mackle said he is focused on the current tasks at hand at the council and joined Tony Todd, Richard Wilson, and Phill Hooper in saying it was something they hadn’t seriously thought about yet.

The elected members aren’t the only ones tossing up their future next year, with chief executive Hamish Riach coming to the end of his contract in September 2025.

Riach said it was too far away to consider if he'll reapply.

“I’ve been focused on the work at hand at the moment.”

Riach became the chief executive in September 2018, after 17 years at the helm of the Crusaders super rugby franchise.