Tasman’s ‘Champion’ Deputy Mayor Won’t Re-Stand For Election

Friday, 21 February 2025, 8:10 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

After 26 years of serving Tasman, deputy mayor Stuart Bryant has decided not to run for the district council in the upcoming local election.

Bryant was first elected to the Lakes-Murchison Ward in a 1999 by-election and has been elected to the ward a further eight times.

“When I joined council my four children were at primary and high school, but now they’ve all got children of their own,” he said.

“It’s been something I’ve really enjoyed as time’s gone on.”

But a desire to spend more time with his nine grandchildren, five of whom are in the North Island, was a key factor behind his decision to stand down.

“We’d like to be able to spend time with them and not have to be rushing home for meetings.”

Having been in office for just over a quarter of a century, Bryant’s seen his rural ward evolve over the years with area shift from sheep and beef farming, to dairying, before the recent hops “boom”.

But the political face of the Lakes-Murchison Ward has also changed during his tenure when a “quite disruptive” 2007 representation adjustment saw the ward lose a councillor while growing in size.

The change left him the sole councillor representing an area of almost 5,600 square kilometres, stretching from just south of Wakefield to Maruia.

But Bryant has left his mark on the Lakes-Murchison Ward in the likes of the community facilities that he’s “immensely proud” to have helped establish in Murchison and St Arnaud – two of the ward’s three small communities – while the third is on its way.

“I’m still aiming to have the Tapawera hub started in this term of council and planning well under way for the stage two extension of the Murchison sports centre,” he said.

“For rural communities, having a central hub to connect and engage is really important for social cohesion and recreation.”

Having chaired transport and environmental planning committees, Bryant said it was important to have good, long-term planning for critical services like water and roading.

As such, he pointed to other highlights of his time in office like supporting the Waimea and Wai-iti dams from their inception to completion, the “incredibly satisfying” expansion of public transport to Wakefield and Motueka, and hailed the opening of the Ruby Bay Bypass which provided a “huge” economic benefit to the region.

“There’s also been a lot of assisting people with enquiries and resolving their problems, that's something I particularly enjoy.”

Bryant has been Mayor Tim King’s deputy since he became mayor in 2019.

Though Bryant admitted that stepping in for the mayor when needed was “a bit of a learning curve”, King had nothing but praise for his deputy and lauded his passion for his community.

“Stuart is one of those … salt of the earth, genuine people that you really want to have in local government,” King said.

“He’s been an absolute champion advocate and representative for both the region as a whole, and his ward.”

King added that Bryant’s support was “greatly appreciated” and he wished him and his wife Jo all the best for the future.

“I'm sure he'll still be a strong advocated supporter and involved in his in his community.”

Unlike Bryant, King was still undecided about whether he would run for mayor again.

He wanted to discuss other people’s intentions, develop the council’s annual plan and see how the Coalition Government’s reforms of the local government sector unfolded before he came to a decision.

But he was certain on one thing: “If I do stand, it will be the last time that I put my name forward for a role on council.”

If elected again, it would be King’s third term as mayor and he thought nine years was an “appropriate time” to serve in that role.

“If you go beyond that, then it's probably time for a change at that point. So I'm very clear that this would be my last tilt at that should I choose to go down that path.”

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