Jim O'Malley, a first-term councillor and key figure behind the "Own the Factory'' chocolate campaign, yesterday confirmed he would stand for both the mayoralty and a council seat at local body elections in October. Cr O'Malley will join Cr Aaron Hawkins as the only incumbent DCC councillors to have confirmed bids for the mayoralty. That left Crs O'Malley and Hawkins, as well as Scout Barbour-Evans and Carmen Houlahan - both candidates from outside council - as the only confirmed contenders for Dunedin's mayoralty. Cr O'Malley said yesterday Mr Cull's decision to stand down opened the door to fresh thinking and ``new blood'' around the council table. Cr O'Malley expected to see more mayoral contenders emerge, including Crs Garey and Vandervis.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 03, 2019 16:33 UTC