Macindoe throws hat in ring for East Ward by-election
Friday, 22 December 2023
Former Hamilton West National MP Tim Macindoe and ex-Waikato district deputy mayor Aksel Bech are among two of 16 candidates vying for the vacant East Ward seat on the city council.
Nominations for the seat closed on Friday. Voting opens on Friday 26 January and closes on 17 February.
The vacancy was created when former councillor Ryan Hamilton stepped down after winning the Hamilton East seat for National at the general election.
Macindoe - who lost Hamilton West in 2020 - said on Friday he was standing because the city was facing some significant financial challenges due to a “spending spree” in recent years.
Operating deficits and debt needed to be reined in, he said.
“We’ve got to be working to balance the books.”
A focus on core services was needed and “we’ve got to ensure we keep ahead of the infrastructure demands that come with a growing city”.
He hoped his National party connections and knowledge of Wellington could be helpful in getting more government funding for the city.
In a Facebook post, Macindoe said there was anguish from ratepayers over a proposed 25.5% rates rise for Hamilton and he wanted to lower the increase.
Meanwhile, Bech - who’s recently finished up as chief executive of the Waikato Housing Initiative - said he won’t be doing any campaigning as his candidature was solely about drawing people’s attention to affordable housing issues.
But, if he did win, “I would take my seat…knowing that it’s a job I can do”.
He said his approach wasn’t “a cunning ploy using reverse psychology” to get people to vote for him.
Others on the list of candidates - which feature some familiar faces from past elections - include Richard Brister, Jacobus Gielen, Jose Gonzalez, Horiana Henderson, Marie-Claire Lepina, John McDonald, Jenny Nand, Jono Ng, Anna Smart, Roger Stratford, Tony Tang, Tania Temoni-Syme and Michael West.
The election is a postal vote, so Hamilton East Ward residents will receive their voting papers in the mail.
To vote, voters simply need to rank the candidates and return their voting paper in a ballot box or post box.