With just nine days left before nominations close for the upcoming local government elections, a leadership vacuum looms over the Cromwell Ward with no candidates yet officially nominated for council or community board roles (as at 6pm Tuesday, July 22).

Of the four current Central Otago District councillors representing Cromwell, two long-serving members - Neil Gillespie and Nigel McKinley - won’t be seeking re-election. 

For first-term Cromwell Community Board member Wally Sanford, who entered through a by-election triggered by a lack of candidates last election, the silence was familiar and frustrating.

“By-elections are embarrassing to our democracy, expensive and avoidable,” he said.

“We as an electorate need to do some serious shoulder tapping in the final week if we’re light on candidates.”

Despite what many saw as a successful first term on the community board, Wally had ruled out stepping up to the councillor role. 

He confirmed he intended to re-stand for the community board, though he hadn’t yet filed his nomination paperwork.

While it was his view he would make a capable councillor, the time and financial demands made it unworkable for now, he said.

“Mortgage payments call louder than public service,” he told the Central App.

“Being a good councillor would take over 20 hours a week and that time budget doesn’t fit into my job or family life.”

The balance was more manageable at community board level, he said, where the time commitment could be juggled around work through a mix of flexible hours and annual leave.

While voter turnout in local elections has been a growing concern nationally, the nomination shortfall highlights another layer of disengagement: the number of people willing to put their names forward in the first place.

Wally said one common misconception may be deterring potential candidates.

“You’re not a celebrity, there is no spotlight, you won’t be famous. The most public part of the role is the election campaign – the rest is as publicly mundane as you want it to be.”

Cromwell’s rapid growth is both the ward’s biggest challenge and its greatest opportunity, Wally said - and it shaped the kind of leadership he wanted to see around the table.

“Cromwell is firmly on the growth curve and probably will be for some time,” he said. 

“I’d like to be surrounded by people who accept the challenges and are able to seek and leverage opportunities for our ward.”

He said he hoped to see aspirational, engaged candidates step forward - people willing to turn up, participate, and actively contribute to discussions.

Wally wasn’t the only first-term elected member grappling with the practical realities of public service. 

Cromwell Ward councillor and community board member Sarah Browne, who also planned to stand again, said the personal cost of the role put many would-be candidates off.

“The problem for most people is the money - they’ve got a full-time job and can’t take the time off,” she said. 

“If you’re a working mum, the juggle is hard.”

Sarah, who had not yet submitted her nomination at the time of interview, said the $200 application fee on top of the personal cost of campaigning was a valid consideration for anyone on a budget.

“It adds up,” she said. 

“Obviously I’m keen to do it - but we’re having to spend money just to get the job.”

As for her motivation?

“People ask me, ‘Why are you doing this? Why make life so hard?’ But this is what I was put here to do - leave the world a better place than you found it,” she said.

One of those stepping aside was deputy mayor Neil Gillespie, who first became a district councillor in 2001 and was eyeing a move to regional council. 

In an interview with the Central App, he said many qualified people opted not to stand due to professional and family responsibilities, while others were put off by the sense that public service often went unappreciated.

“Many potential candidates ask themselves, ‘Why would I do that bloody thankless task?’,” he said. 

He downplayed any talk of a “changing of the guard” following his and Nigel’s flagged departures, noting the potential for a complete refresh existed every three years at the hands of voters.

Neil said the community board remained a valuable stepping stone into council and expressed disappointment that an engaged first-term member like Wally wasn’t in a position to stand.

He added he would question the motivation of anyone who put their name forward at the last minute simply to fill a gap.

Nominations for council and community board roles across the Central Otago District close at 12pm on Friday, August 1.

At the time of writing, there were no nominations for elected members to serve on the Maniototo Community Board, while other wards had received fewer nominations than there were seats to fill, leaving gaping holes in local representation just days out from the deadline.