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Kavinda Herath / Things
Invercargill City Council by-election candidate Marcus Lush.
Prominent broadcaster Marcus Lush has been elected to the Invercargill City Council.
Interim results indicate that Newstalk ZB won the by-elections for a vacant seat at the Invercargill City Council table.
The position became available when Toni Biddle resigned from the board last year citing a “toxic” culture on the board as one reason.
Voting closed at noon on Wednesday and the council released interim results at 1.30pm confirming that Lush had won by a large margin.
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Kavinda Herath / Things
Invercargill by-election candidate Marcus Lush with his family, left to right, his son Denver, 5, his partner Vanessa Underwood, and their son Tracker, 7, in Bluff.
He obtained 7003 of the 13,991 votes cast, with his closest fellow candidate Wayne Harpur, who obtained 1,457 votes.
Lush said he was “overwhelmed” by the result.
“It seems to be quite a convincing victory. I am amazed. “
He planned to continue his national show, Marcus Lush Nights, which he presents every weekday between 8pm and 12pm.
Elections Petty Officer Michael Morris said that while the special votes have yet to be counted, as well as the votes that were left at our polls on the last day of voting, the margin between candidates was significant and enough to be confident that Lush will be the one of Invercargill next councilor.
It is not yet known how many votes were cast on Wednesday morning, however the rate of return was 34.86 percent of eligible voters.
Announcing in January that he would be running for council, Lush said: “It’s easy enough to be in Invercargill and argue … about what’s wrong with the place, but it’s a little different when you have to change it.” “
The former Aucklander, who has been prominent in radio and television roles since the 1990s, moved south in 2002.
During the election campaign, the local Bluff said the change was one of the best decisions it has made.
He lives in Bluff with his partner Vanessa Underwood and their children Denver and Tracker.
Lush is about to join a council that was criticized last year.
It included the Department of Internal Affairs raising concerns in August about a significant conflict on the council.
An independent review was conducted that pointed to a “leadership void” in the council, and the report surrounded Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt as a key issue in that void. Since then, Shadbolt himself has dismissed the report, saying it was unfairly flagged.
As a result, two independent observers have been appointed to the council to help improve governance.
When he announced that he was on his feet, Lush felt that now was a good time to join the council and take advantage of the knowledge of the two observers.
RESULTS
Marcus Lush – 7,03 votes
Wayne Harpur – 1457
Simon Edwards – 1090
Kevin Mulrooney – 1069
Tom Downey – 967
David Pottinger – 927
Wade Devine – 849
Carl Heenan – 418
Bernadine Goldsmith – 144
