By Andrew AustinOh, to have been a fly on the wall in discussions about who should be the deputy mayors of our councils. Easy decisions have been made in Wairoa, where mayor Craig Little has opted for long-serving deputy mayor Denise Eaglesome-Karekare, and Central Hawke's Bay where new mayor Alex Walker has chosen current deputy mayor Ian Sharp. It is a bit trickier in Hastings with mayor Lawrence Yule having to think carefully about who replaces Cynthia Bowers. Speculation has been rife that a whole host of councillors, including top candidate Sandra Hazlehurst, are keen on the job. New councillor Damon Harvey has been mentioned as a possible deputy, but the move may cause Mr Yule problems with some of his existing councillors.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 20, 2016 02:26 UTC