Tom Campbell has been confirmed as the new Mayor of Invercargill, following the release of preliminary election results. The results, issued around midday on Sunday, showed Campbell had received 6,815 votes, putting him ahead of his closest rival, Councillor Alex Crackett, who received 4,940 votes.
Campbell first joined Invercargill City Council in 2022 and was later appointed Deputy Mayor. He also temporarily served as Acting Mayor in both 2024 and 2025, stepping in for former Mayor Nobby Clark.
Over his time on Council, Campbell has held various leadership roles. He was Deputy Chair across multiple committees, including Infrastructure and Projects, Community Wellbeing and Regulatory, Finance and Policy, and Risk and Assurance. He also contributed to the Community Wellbeing Fund and the City Centre Heritage subcommittees.
Deputy Electoral Officer Michael Morris said, “While successful candidates for most of the 12 seats on Council can now be declared, there is still the potential for the final makeup of our Council to change slightly.”
Returning Councillors include Grant Dermody (8,129 votes), Trish Boyle (7,267), Darren Ludlow (7,177), Ria Bond (7,153), and Ian Pottinger (7,027). 2022 failed mayoral candidate Marcus Lush, who went all out — mayor or nothing — and came third behind Toni Biddle and outgoing Mayor Nobby Clark, is also returning to the table with 8,128 votes.
After his embarrassing mayoral defeat he posted on his Facebook.
“I decided at the beginning that this was to be a fun campaign – and I have loved it.
I also knew that if you are not careful politics can make you bitter – so I am happy that my political career is now over – and I have no bitterness whatsoever.
Once again thanks to every one for the support.”
— Marcus Lush, October 2022
They will join confirmed Councillors Steve Broad, who led the poll with 11,143 votes, and Alex Crackett, who secured 9,703 votes despite missing out on the mayoralty.
Special Votes are yet to be counted, with 904 still to be processed. “That’s quite a significant jump in the numbers of Special Votes being cast, which reflects the surge in last-minute voting around the country,” Morris said. In 2022, only 594 Special Votes were received.
Elsewhere, Jo Eruera, Justin Sutherland, Ray Fife, Haylee Simeon, and Frazer Murdoch were elected to the Bluff Community Board. For the Invercargill Licensing Trust, returning members Paddy O’Brien, Suzanne Prentice, Angela Newell, Graham Hawkes, and Sheree Carey were re-elected. They will be joined by newcomer Nick Jeffrey.
The new Council will be sworn in on Tuesday, 28 October, with the first meeting set for Tuesday, 4 November.
Voter turnout in Invercargill was recorded at 44.77 percent, excluding Special Votes. “It’s really disappointing to see that fewer people voted this time around in comparison to the 2022 Elections, however it does reflect what we are seeing across the country. We would like to thank those people in our community who did take the time to vote, and play a part in guiding our collective future,” Morris said.
Preliminary results
The preliminary results includes all ordinary votes, and excludes special votes. There are 904 special votes still to be counted.
Final results are expected by the end of the week.
Mayoralty
CAMPBELL, Tom 6,815
CRACKETT, 4,940
POTTINGER, Ian 2,272
BOND, Ria 1,731
MORTON, Tom 670
CLARK, Andrew 278
CHERNISHOV, Stevey 214
MCCRONE, Gordon 63
INFORMAL 75
BLANK VOTING PAPERS 324
Council - At Large (12 vacancies)
BROAD, Steve 11,143
CRACKETT, 9,703
DERMODY, Grant 8,129
LUSH, Marcus 8,128
BOYLE, Trish 7,267
LUDLOW, Darren 7,177
BOND, Ria (Independent) 7,153
POTTINGER, Ian 7,027
ARNOLD, Allan 5,961
DE VRIES, Andrea 5,663
STEWART, Barry 5,591
TOU MCNAUGHTON, Lisa 5,564
REEVES, Ian 5,557
MCKERROW, Lynley 5,402
MEADES, David 5,274
HERMAN, Karl 4,670
KING, Terry 4,592
DAWSON, Chris 4,403
COOTE, 3,954
COOTE, Pania 3,746
VAN DER LEM, Tony 3,673
MORTON, Tom 3,160
HEENAN, Carl 2,911
O'CONNELL, Dan 2,258
LAURIE, Amanda 2,051
PETERSON, Noel 1,256
JASPERSE, Carol (CJ) 972
INFORMAL 50
BLANK VOTING PAPERS 128
Bluff Community Board (5 vacancies)
ERUERA, Jo 601
SUTHERLAND, Justin 589
FIFE, Ray 470
SIMEON, Haylee (Community Voice) 395
MURDOCH, Frazer (Bluff Promotions) 284
GOODALL, Glen 238
JASPERSE, Carol (CJ) 108
INFORMAL 2
BLANK VOTING PAPERS 18
Invercargill Licensing Trust (6 vacancies)
O'BRIEN, Paddy 9,972
PRENTICE, Suzanne 9,138
NEWELL, Angela 7,932
HAWKES, Graham (Hawksy) 7,405
CAREY, Sheree 7,273
JEFFREY, Nick 5,520
JOHNSON, Kane (Big Daddy) 4,950
DOUGLAS, Aaron (Ronnie) 2,410
INFORMAL 5
BLANK VOTING PAPERS 574