Photo: suppliedA "reluctant civil duty" has motivated a Gore District Council manager to stand in this year’s general election. Dave Bainbridge-Zafar, who lives in Port Chalmers, north of Dunedin, while working as a senior infrastructure leader for the council, last week announced he would stand for the Opportunity party in the Dunedin electorate. Mr Bainbridge-Zafar said running for office was not in his plans for the year, but found himself resonating with Opportunity after hearing their leader Qiulae Wong speak in Dunedin. We got to speaking at the party afterwards, I was wondering who they were running in Dunedin. It will be separate from what I do in the council chambers," he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 25, 2026 05:55 UTC