Regional council elections have attracted 57 more candidates than for the 2016 election, an increase of 25%, and district council elections have 33 more candidates.
The participation in regional elections has been boosted by the 39 candidates for the first full election for 14 Environment Canterbury seats since the National Government appointed commissioners in 2010.
LGNZ principal policy adviser Dr Mike Reid said there is also increased interest from women with 52 more women standing for district council seats and 25 more for regional council seats.
The 50% increase in women candidates for regional councils means they make up 25% of the 286 candidates.
Women are 35% of the1123 candidates for district council seats though names do not disclose gender in all cases.
LGNZ does not have statistics on elections for community boards, district health boards and licensing trusts.
Reid hopes voter participation will improve on the 47% turnout in the 2016 and 2013 elections.
That was the average turnout across all councils but turnout tends to be higher in rural and regional areas and lower in big cities.
All people on the Parliamentary rolls and non-resident ratepayers get voting papers for the local government elections.
LGNZ surveying after each election shows the main reasons given for not voting were being too busy, a lack of interest and a lack of information about candidates.
A recent change to the Local Government Act requires council chief executives to promote voter turnout but how they will do it is not yet clear.
Councils are also required to publish pre-election reports, mainly on council finances, and they are required reading for candidates and interested voters.
Another concern of LGNZ is the ability of the postal services to cope, in the smaller numbers of post boxes and the time now taken for mail to get to its destination.
“We are advising voters to get their completed voting papers into the mail one week before voting closes on October 12 or they risk being too late,” Reid said.
Local government elections have been postal voting since 1989.
Single transferable voting will apply for 11 councils and 20 of the 21 health boards. Waikato DHB has appointed commissioners.
Among the STV councils are New Plymouth and Ruapehu Districts for the first time, along with Kapiti Coast, Kaipara, Greater Wellington Regional and Marlborough Unitary Council.
Surveys of councillor elected in 2016 show 33% are self-employed and 75% had previously served in local government.
The number of unopposed mayoral races is the lowest it has been in 10 years, only six.
An average of four mayoral candidates are contesting all 61 sets of mayoral chains across district and city councils – regional councillors elect their own chairmen at the first meeting.
Among the higher-profile resignations and retirements are Gisborne’s Meng Foon and Opotiki’s John Forbes, both having served 18 years as mayors.
Forbes said he was first elected as a councillor in 1986 and local government has changed considerably over that 30-plus years.
The degree of complexity is now much greater and the regulatory environment proscribed by central government is not always fit for purpose in rural districts.
The requirement for skills in new compliance areas means a shortage of suitably qualified people so councils then bid up the price of those people who are available.
Forbes also served as the rural sector chairman for LGNZ for nine years.
He said businesspeople are often nominated on the assumption district councils are like big businesses but that is not the case.
“I recall my predecessor as rural chairman saying ‘if rural councils were like businesses then I would plough the sports fields and plant turnips’.”
Mayoral candidates, in particular, need experience as councillors, he thinks.
