North Shore City re-elects mayor, stable council
October 9, 2004

North Shore City has elected its first third-term mayor with incumbent George Wood resisting challenges from city councillors Tony Holman and Callum Blair to earn another three years in the top job.

Provisional results for the triennial local authority elections just released by electoral officer, Peter McArthur, reveal the council chosen to run the country's fourth largest city.

Mr Wood, a Forrest Hill resident and former policeman, was a clear winner, receiving 25,241 votes compared to Northcote resident Tony Holman's tally of 10,336 and Callum Blair of Mairangi Bay on 4074. The other contenders in the race for the mayoralty were Alan McCulloch of Long Bay (4210 votes) and Birkenhead's Aileen Austin (3866).

Messrs Blair and Holman are two of 10 councillors re-elected to serve the city until October 2007. The others are Tony Barker, Heather Brown, Andrew Eaglen, Dianne Hale, Gary Holmes, Margaret Miles, Julia Parfitt and Mike Tafua.

There are five new faces on the 16-member council: Chris Darby of Devonport; Ivan Dunn of Sunnynook; Bob Mitchell of Northcote; Kevin Schwass of Takapuna; and Peter White of Rothesay Bay.

Five councillors who served during the 2001-04 term won't be around the Takapuna chamber for the next three years. They include Paula Gillon who did not seek re-election and Joel Cayford and Wyn Hoadley, who have both been elected to the Auckland Regional Council. Alison Clark and Andrew Williams were not re-elected as councillors this time.

George Wood won the mayoralty in October 1998 with 14,127 votes, and was re-elected three years later with 18,731 - making history as the first and only person to ever retain North Shore City's mayoral chains.

The new council line-up is: Mayor: George Wood Councillors (15): Northern - Callum Blair, Gary Holmes, Margaret Miles, Julia Parfitt and Peter White. Central - Chris Darby, Ivan Dunn, Andrew Eaglen, Dianne Hale and Kevin Schwass. Harbour - Tony Barker, Heather Brown, Tony Holman, Bob Mitchell and Mike Tafua.

Voter turnout was down this election with 35.2 per cent of the city's 139,912 registered voters taking part in the postal poll. The 2001 turnout was 37.8 per cent.

For full details of the election results please visit North Shore City's website www.northshorecity.govt.nz. This includes not only the elections for mayor, councillors and North Shore City's six community boards but also the polls to elect North Shore representatives on the Auckland Regional Council and Waitemata District Health Board plus members of the Birkenhead Licensing Trust.

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