Plenty of choice for Hamilton voters in packed race for council
Voters will be be spoilt for choice as the candidates vying for a seat in the Hamilton City Council chamber are confirmed.
Nominations closed for the 2025 local body elections last Friday with Kirikiriroa is bucking the national trend of fewer candidates.
A total of 48 candidates have registered to compete for 14 seats on the Hamilton City Council, giving city voters plenty of choice.
The split is 27 candidates for the East General Ward, 15 for the West General Ward, along with 6 candidates for the Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward.
There are also 12 candidates for mayor, including sitting councillors Sarah Thomson (West), Tim Macindoe (East) and Maria Huata (Maaori)
Both the East and West wards have 6 available council seats, but it could be a hotter contest in the East, where the 27 candidates include current councillors, former MP’s, past performers and newcomers.
Incumbents Andrew Bydder, Anna Casey-Cox and Maxine Van Oosten are hoping to retain their seats, along with Tim Macindoe, who is also down for Mayor. A number of candidates who performed well in previous elections are also contesting again, including Peter Humphreys, Leo Liu, Jenny Nand and Horiana Henderson.
Macindoe, a former National Party Member of Parliament (MP), was not returned to parliament in the 2020 general election but moved into council after winning the 2024 East Ward by-election.
Looking to also make the move into local government are four-term Labour Party MP, Sue Moroney (2005-2017) and two-term Labour Party MP Jamie Strange (2017-2023), both contesting in the East Ward.
In the West Ward, the 15 candidates include current councillors Geoff Taylor, Angela O’Leary, Emma Pike and Louise Hutt, as well as Sarah Thomson (also a Mayoral candidate). Michael West, who contested the 2022 election is also registered with the remaining 9 candidates being largely new options for the West Ward voters to consider.
In the Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward there are two available seats. Current councillor Maria Huata, who won her seat in August 2024 following the resignation of Melaina Huaki, has nominated again and is a Mayoral candidate. Other candidates for the 2 seats are Jarrad Gallagher, Lawrence Jensen, Robbie Neha, Andrew Pope and Jahvaya Wheki.
You can check out the full list of candidates on the Hamilton City Council’s election page, as well as results of past elections. More detailed candidate information will be added as the campaigns get underway.
