Invercargill City Councillor Rebecca Amundsen has pulled out of the Mayoralty race following two bad results in the ‘What’s on Invers’ polls asking the public who they were likely to vote for.
The first poll on August 1 asked people who they wanted as Mayor, and Amundsen came in last.
This was followed by another poll on August 5 last week with 479 responses to the question asking which ICC councillors (who are not standing for Mayor) will you be re-electing to the council table.
Amundsen came in second last next to councillor Lesley Soper.
An announcement on her Facebook page on Sunday confirmed she would no longer be running for Mayor, in light of the growing candidate pool.
She couldn’t be reached for comment, but said in her post that serving her community has always been at the heart of what she dos and is what led her to council nine years ago.
“My decisions as an active community member and as a councillor are always motivated by what’s best for the community and the city.
“In light of the growing mayoral candidate pool I have realised that what’s best for the city and indeed myself, is to not run for mayor in this election.
“There are a number of worst case scenarios in the mayoral candidate pool who have a chance of winning, and I do not want my running to contribute to any of them being successful. This would not be in the best interests of Invercargill and Bluff.”
She is still seeking re-election as a councillor, and said she would encourage everyone to think carefully about how they place their mayoral vote in the upcoming election.
“Invercargill has a real opportunity for a positive outcome. I will be posting more about this on my facebook page over the coming weeks.”
