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Progress Results Are In For Stratford District Council Elections And It’s Tight
Voting in the local elections and the Māori Ward Referendum only closed at 12 noon today, Saturday 11 October 2025, but the first stage of results is already available for the Stratford district.
Stratford District Council (SDC) has released its Progress Results, which include votes received up to mid-afternoon on Thursday 9 October. Votes received after this time, and special votes are yet to be counted.
SDC Chief Executive Sven Hanne says: “The progress results released today represent approximately 80 to 90 percent of the total votes. With the Mayoral race currently close and a tight field of candidates in the urban and Māori wards, the remaining votes could influence the final rankings, which are expected next week.”
Votes in the referendum on whether to keep or remove Stratford District’s Māori Ward, currently favour removal. While the final count may shift the numbers, the results so far provide a strong indication of the likely outcome.
Sven says, “Standing for council takes courage. Our Electoral Officer and I have been on the phone to every single candidate to let them know the results before releasing them to the public, and to personally thank them for the commitment they’ve shown to the district by standing.”
“We know our candidates will continue to support their communities and help make Stratford a great place to live, regardless of whether they’re elected to Council or not. That’s just the kind of people they are, and we’re incredibly grateful to each of them for stepping up and being part of the democratic process.”
Progress Results for Stratford district
Mayor - Stratford District Council
| Candidate Name | Votes Received | Rank |
| VOLZKE, Neil | 1707 | 1 |
| ERWOOD, Jono | 1452 | |
| Blank | 35 | |
| Informal | 2 |
Māori Ward
| Candidate Name | Votes Received | Rank |
| CHADWICK, David Kimball Kinane | 37 | 1 |
| HEMOPO, Karley | 34 | |
| HADDON, Hemi | 28 | |
| Blank | 1 | |
| Informal | 0 |
Urban General Ward
| Candidate Name | Votes Received | Rank |
| ERWOOD, Jono | 1273 | 1 |
| DUDLEY, Annette | 1207 | 2 |
| BEST, Josh | 1094 | 3 |
| WATT, Mathew | 905 | 4 |
| HALL, Ellen Elizabeth | 902 | 5 |
| BERTIE, Jaimie | 895 | 6 |
| GERNHOEFER, Brendon Christopher | 882 | |
| PROCTER, Mike | 511 | |
| GOOCH, Laurie | 451 | |
| TOLLAND, Alan Ross | 428 | |
| JONES, Brad Colin | 392 | |
| MCNAMARA, Peter | 265 | |
| Blank | 23 | |
| Informal | 8 |
Rural General Ward – elected unopposed
| Candidate Name |
| BECK, Steve |
| BOYDE, Grant |
| HARRIS, Amanda Kay |
| SEXTUS, Katherine |
Māori Wards Referendum
| Votes Received | Rank | |
| I vote to REMOVE Māori wards | 1900 | 1 |
| I vote to KEEP Māori wards | 1134 | |
| Blank | 160 | |
| Informal | 2 |
SDC will release Preliminary Results on Sunday 12 October at Stratford.govt.nz/ElectionResults. These results will include votes received from mid-afternoon Thursday 9 October through to the close of voting, but will still exclude special votes, which need to be verified by the Electoral Commission.
Final Results are expected to be available on Friday 17 October.
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