Central Otago’s newly elected mayor, Tamah Alley, says she’ll spend the week ahead meeting with her new council team before announcing who will serve as deputy mayor. 

Tamah confirmed the deputy mayor appointment will be her decision but said there’s no “obvious choice” this term following the retirement of long-serving deputy mayor Neil Gillespie, who was elected to Otago Regional Council on Saturday (October 11). 

“We’ll be working through that over the next week,” she said.  

“I’ll be meeting with all of the people who will be sat around that council table, and we’ll be working out how we can best take the district forward.” 

All five returning councillors - Cheryl Laws and Sarah Browne, of the Cromwell ward, Martin McPherson and Tracy Paterson, of the Vincent ward, and Stu Duncan, of the Maniototo ward - are seen as potential contenders for the deputy mayor role. 

In past terms, the role has often gone to a Cromwell-based councillor to balance the mayor’s Alexandra base, but whether that tradition continues remains to be seen. 

Sarah and Tracy are understood to be frontrunners.  

Tracy told The Central App she was honoured to continue representing the Vincent award and welcomed the opportunity to work alongside Tamah for another three years.  

“Her dedication to the district and its people was reflected in the election results,” she said of Tamah. 

“It is the decision of the mayor as to who fills what portfolios. I am confident that Tamah will consider all factors and make the decision on what is best for Central Otago.” 

Sarah said she had discussed the deputy role with Tamah. 

“It could absolutely be me. I would be incredibly keen to continue the true ‘co-governance’ feel of that role distribution [between Cromwell and Alexandra], but that decision is one for the mayor to weigh up,” she said. 

“Cromwell will be the biggest ward by the next election, so it will be good to keep that in mind. Having said that, though, Cromwell needs to front up and get engaged.”

Following the announcement of the mayoral result on Saturday, Tamah visited Cromwell to celebrate with councillors and community board members who had secured seats.  

Sarah said the mayor’s presence was appreciated. 

“Tamah is definitely part of our Cromwell team, so it was great to see her and share a bubbles. Cromwell should see a really strong group of people who get on well and are going to function at their peak as a board and council.” 

Tamah received thousands more votes than her closest rival. Asked about the strength of her win - described by some as a landslide - she said she believed the result reflected a clear message from voters. 

“I think the voters were pretty definitive in the direction that they’d like to see Central Otago going in,” she said. 

“People want to see a direction that’s forwards.  

“I think they want to retain the things that they love about living here in Central Otago, and some of those things that they are happy to carry on paying for.  

“I think people have been really clear they don't want to see council coming in and slashing services." 

She said voters had delivered “a really good mix” of experienced and new representatives across both council and community boards. 

“There are real dangers in returning a completely new council, especially if those people haven't been involved in local government before. But, also, you don't just want to have same old, same old.” 

That sentiment was echoed by Tracy and Sarah.  

“While we have farewelled some, a warm welcome to the team is extended to the new councillors,” Tracy said.  

“I am looking forward to continuing on with council being a strong cohesive group that is respectful but able to challenge each other to get the best outcomes for the district.” 

Sarah also encouraged candidates who were unsuccessful this time to stay involved, saying she hoped it “was the start…not the end” for those who had given their time and energy to the campaign.  

“Standing for public office often requires a thick skin,” she said.

“We need people like you to keep showing up and keep engaged with the elected members and the community so we can do this better and stronger.”

Tracy thanked voters from across the district who had engaged with her during the campaign.

She said she valued their feedback on what what was working well in the community and where improvements could be made, and she planned to bring those ideas to the council table early in the new term.  

Read more: Tamah Alley elected mayor and Early result deliver new-look council

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