Waimakariri Mayor Keen To Put Heated Campaign Behind Him

Tuesday, 21 October 2025, 7:53 pm
Article: David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter

October 17, 2025

Dan Gordon is putting the election campaign behind him as he begins his third term as Waimakariri mayor. 

Mr Gordon was challenged by sitting councillor Paul Williams in a heated campaign, with several candidates using social media to challenge the mayor and the council's debt level. 

‘‘There were some robust discussions about what the future of the district might look like, but now we’ve got to work together for the whole of Waimakariri. 

‘‘In the spirit of that, I want to work together with the new council and build a team approach to serve in the best interests of the district.’’ 

Based on preliminary results, Mr Gordon was more than 10,000 votes ahead of Mr Williams, who has also lost his seat on the council. Mr Gordon said the council has a large work programme for the next three years, including advocating for the proposed Rangiora eastern link road and other transport projects. The council also planned to conduct a review of its district-wide rating alongside implementing the water services delivery plan. 

Waimakariri is beefing up its in-house water services business unit in line with the Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation. Mr Gordon said he and chief executive Jeff Millward will meet with each councillor individually to discuss their priorities for the next years. 

The first council meeting for the term is due at the end of the month, where councillors will be sworn in and the new deputy mayor announced. Mr Williams was one of two sitting councillors to lose their seat on the council, along with Robbie Brine, who had been a councillor since 1998. 

‘‘I’ve worked with Robbie since 2004 and he has made an exceptional contribution to this role and I want to acknowledge that,’’ Mr Gordon said. There will be three new councillors - Bruce McLaren (Rangiora-Ashley), and Shona Powell and Tim Bartle (Kaiapoi-Woodend), while former councillor Wendy Doody (Rangiora-Ashley) will return to council table after stepping down for family reasons in 2022. 

‘‘It’s good to see Wendy back. I’ve worked with her for a number of years and I value her as a hard working and loyal colleague,’’ Mr Gordon said. He said he was also pleased to see Ms Powell elected, after her long service on the Woodend-Sefton Community Board, including as chairperson. 

Six sitting councillors will be returning - Niki Mealings and Tim Fulton (Oxford-Ohoka), Jason Goldsworthy and Joan Ward (Rangiora-Ashley), and Brent Cairns and Philip Redmond (Kaiapoi-Woodend). 

The voter return was 42.91%, being 21,171 votes, including special votes. 

Waimakariri Results: 

Mayor: Dan Gordon 15,766, 

Paul Williams 5132. 

Oxford-Ohoka Ward (2 vacancies): 

Niki Mealings 2527, Tim Fulton 2423, 

Rob Ballantyne 1293, Gordon Malcolm 1065. Rangiora-Ashley Ward (4 vacancies): Jason Goldsworthy 5040, Joan Ward 4431, Wendy Doody 4085, Bruce McLaren 3872, Paul Williams 3222, Robbie Brine 3083, Wayne Linton 2772, Steve Wilkinson 2610, James Bourke 2287, Sam Fisher 1110. 

Kaiapoi-Woodend Ward: 

Brent Cairns 3947, Philip Redmond 3895, Shona Powell 3214, Tim Bartle 2791, Matt James 2348, Nathan Atkins 2180, Sandra Stewart 1964, Henrietta Carroll 1801, Prudence Stone 1566, Natalie Leary 1007. 

Woodend-Sefton Community Board (5 vacancies): 

Shona Powell 2102 (withdrawn), 

Mark Paterson 1756, 

Andrew Thompson 1634, 

Prudence Stone 1341, 

Joel McLachlan 1312, 

Mathew Potter 1223, 

Yu Bai 1096. 

Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community Board (5 vacancies): 

Jackie Watson 2562, Tim Bartle 2410 (withdrawn), Sandra Stewart 2324, Russell Keetley 2304, Abbie Campbell 2078, Henrietta Carroll 1665, Natalie Leary 1332. 

Oxford-Ohoka Community Board - Oxford Community Subdivision (3 vacancies): 

Thomas Robson 1244, Tim Fulton 1233 (withdrawn), Mark Brown 953, Pete Merrifield 522, Garth Free 510. 

Rangiora-Ashley Community Board Ashley Community Subdivision (2 vacancies): 

Diana Hawkins 1389, Duncan Lundy 1169, James Bourke 1163, Damon Hurley 575. Rangiora-Ashley 

Community Board Rangiora Community Subdivision (6 vacancies): 

Jason Goldsworthy 4883 (withdrawn), Liz McClure 4478, Bruce McLaren 4185 (withdrawn), Kirstyn Barnett 4071, Jim Gerard 3878, Robbie Brine 3163, Brent Robinson 1964, Alan Geeves 1523. 

Oxford-Ohoka Community Board Ohoka-Swannanoa Community Subdivision (3 vacancies): 

Sarah Barkle 1488, Wayne Godfrey 968, Ray Harpur 902, Simon Hall 793, Ethan Nicholson 621. 

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