Palmerston North Mayor Heather Tanguay has confirmed she will be running for re-election. So, along with counciller Jono Naylor and reality TV "star" Michael Feyen, it looks like the three key players in our triennial mayoral drama are now cast. As for who will come out on top, Tanguay hasn't notably screwed up during her term, and had a powerful lead in the last election. The campaign will shift that, but she has the advantage going in.
It's also interesting that PNCC's plans for a windfarm in the Turitea Reserve are shaping up to be an election issue. This is IMHO a Good Thing - councillers should be held accountable for that decision and the whiff of corruption surrounding it. OTOH, I don't really expect it to shift a lot of votes - but it may force councillers (and the mayor) to stand up and explain why they think it is acceptable for the council to be accepting money in exchange for granting resource consents.
