Ria BondTen years ago, Ria Bond told Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt she would challenge him one day in the mayoralty race. Yesterday, she announced she would be contesting the mayoralty at the local body elections in October. Ms Bond said Sir Tim was an ''icon'' and she appreciated what he had done for Invercargill in the past years. Ms Bond is a former hairdresser and spent more than two years as a list MP based in Invercargill. Ms Bond said as she was employed by Invercargill's council she was unable to begin campaigning until her contract finished at the end of June.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 15, 2019 16:30 UTC