Dan Gordon had a message for Waimakariri residents after winning the mayoralty. Photo: David Hill/North Canterbury News
Dan Gordon is putting the election campaign behind him as he begins his third term as Waimakariri mayor.
Gordon was challenged by sitting councillor Paul Williams in a heated campaign, with several candidates using social media to challenge the mayor and the council's debt level.
''There were some robust discussions about what the future of the district might look like, but now we've got to work together for the whole of Waimakariri.
''In the spirit of that, I want to work together with the new council and build a team approach to serve in the best interests of the district.''
Based on preliminary results, Gordon was more than 10,000 votes ahead of Williams, who had also lost his seat on the council.
Gordon said the council had a large work programme for the next three years, including advocating for the proposed Rangiora eastern link road and other transport projects.
The council also planned to conduct a review of its district-wide rating alongside implementing the water services delivery plan.
Waimakariri was beefing up its in-house water services business unit in line with the government's Local Water Done Well legislation.
Gordon said he and chief executive Jeff Millward will meet with each councillor individually to discuss their priorities for the next years.
The first council meeting for the term is due at the end of the month, where councillors will be sworn in and the new deputy mayor announced.
Williams was one of two sitting councillors to lose their seat on the council, along with Robbie Brine, who had been a councillor since 1998.
''I've worked with Robbie since 2004 and he has made an exceptional contribution to this role and I want to acknowledge that,'' Gordon said.
There will be three new councillors - Bruce McLaren (Rangiora-Ashley), and Shona Powell and Tim Bartle (Kaiapoi-Woodend), while former councillor Wendy Doody (Rangiora-Ashley) will return to the council table after stepping down for family reasons in 2022.
''It's good to see Wendy back. I've worked with her for a number of years and I value her as a hard working and loyal colleague,'' Gordon said.
He said he was also pleased to see Powell elected, after her long service on the Woodend-Sefton Community Board, including as chairperson.
Six sitting councillors will be returning - Niki Mealings and Tim Fulton (Oxford-Ohoka), Jason Goldsworthy and Joan Ward (Rangiora-Ashley), and Brent Cairns and Philip Redmond (Kaiapoi-Woodend).
The voter return was 42.91 percent, being 21,171 votes, including special votes.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
