First out of the box HDC Councillor Marcus Buddo launched his campaign for Hastings District mayor last Saturday to a full house at the Havelock North Community Centre.

Buddo is a first-term councillor at present, representing the mostly rural Kahuranaki Ward, which stretches from Waimarama through Bridge Pa and Maraekakaho to Kereru and beyond.

In his remarks, Buddo stressed his commitment to rates restraint and restricting HDC funding and attention to core services.

Noting that every candidate likely to stand would say the same thing, he insisted that he alone has walked the talk, pointing to his recent vote against HDC funding Hawke’s Bay Tourism as an example. He considers that council should not be subsiding specific business sectors. 

Taking questions from the floor, Buddo indicated he would:

• Not support HDC providing funding for the Ruataniwha Dam 2.

• Not pursue amalgamation, saying “the people have spoken” and instead would focus on councils’ collaborating.

• Support Māori wards if those were supported by referendum, but that he didn’t expect that outcome. Instead, he would plan as mayor to engage with Māori community leaders around specific projects and initiatives.

Buddo released a campaign bio, which can be downloaded here.

Hedging his bets, as most mayoral candidates do, Buddo plans to stand for his current ward seat as well.

The rumour mill is buzzing over a number of possible Hastings mayoral candidates, including current HDC councillors Damon Harvey, Wendy Schollum, Michael Fowler and Henry Heke.