Mayoral challenger emerges

The honeymoon is over for Westland District Mayor Maureen Pugh, who faces the possibility of two challengers in the upcoming elections — both from the same family.
After running unopposed last election, Mrs Pugh was yesterday confronted with a definite challenge from her former councillor, Hokitika electrician Peter Davidson, and may yet have another from his cousin, West Coast regional councillor Duncan Davidson.

“The main reason I will be running is that I believe it is time for change within the council,” Peter Davidson said yesterday.
He was nominated by retired Hokitika housewife Patricia Ellen and Whataroa businessman Gordon Kelly.
“In respect of the Mayor’s position, particularly over the past three years, they have done things within the council that haven’t spent ratepayers’ money prudently. Every three years we have elections in a democratic society and this is the time to have that change.”
While those in Franz Josef Glacier had voiced concerns that they were not getting a fair deal for their rates, he said that was true of the whole of Westland: “We are not getting a good bang for our buck.”
A fourth generation Hokitika resident, Mr Davidson is married with three adult children.
If elected he promised to be “more careful” with spending ratepayers’ money, which he said was a “major concern within our region”.
“There is something wrong inside the council, it is not as cohesive as you would expect.”
The self-employed electrician was briefly on the council a year and a half ago before leaving his post to embark on a nine-month trip around the world. He sought and was refused leave of absence for the holiday, and was forced to resign. The resulting by-election was won by Jim Butzbach.
Mr Davidson said the electorate could have no fear that he would pull out of the job this time, and given his “solid background” in the town he would have support from the community.
“You put your name on the line when you stand for a position like mayor. There are issues people find hard to deal with, but as mayor you have to face them. For a good, healthy community people need to stand for these positions. We have good people out there who can do a lot of good for the community.
“There is a lot of disharmony out there and it is time for people to voice their opinion at the ballot box.”
Duncan Davidson originally said he would only consider standing against Mrs Pugh if no other candidates stepped forward to contest the election, but yesterday he said he was unsure whether or not he would continue with his candidacy.
His cousin’s nomination had taken “a wee bit of pressure off ” but he would not make any “sudden decision” to step aside.
“The amount of support I have had from people has surprised me,” Duncan Davidson said.
Kyle Scott, Frances Stapleton, Jackie Douglas and Jim Butzbach have all been nominated so far for the Hokitika ward, and Ian Hustwick is seeking another term in the northern ward.
Hokitika Airport chairman Bruce Smith has again been nominated to stand as a trustee of Development West Coast.
Nominations close on August 20, with the postal ballot to be declared at midday on October 9.