Two-horse race for mayoralty

The Westland mayoral election looks set to stay a two-horse race, with the exit yesterday of West Coast regional councillor Duncan Davidson.
He will instead seek re-election for another term on the regional council, leaving the sole challenge so far against Mayor Maureen Pugh to ex-district councillor Peter Davidson — his cousin.
With 15 years under his belt on the regional council, Cr Davidson said the decision to stick with the status quo made more sense.
“For the last three months I’ve been weighing up my options and the support that I have been getting has seen me hold on a bit longer, but the regional council is where I’ve had the most experience.”
When he first indicated publicly that he might stand for the mayoralty, he also needed to consider retiring from a long career as a mental health nurse, currently for the West Coast District Health Board.
Yesterday, he said the votes would be close enough between two mayoral candidates without a third splitting the vote.
“From what I have heard, people are ready for a change. They want a greater accountability for where their money is going.”
Peter Davidson, who was forced to step down from the council 18 months ago for a round-the-world trip, said he had mounted his challenge to make that change.
“There is something wrong inside the council, it is not as cohesive as you would expect.”
Mrs Pugh stood unopposed last election. She was first elected in 2004.
Other punters for the mayoral and councillor seats have only days left to come out of the woodwork, with nominations closing on Friday.