Cehill Pienaar
National Party Rodney Electorate Chair19 February 2011
Rodney Candidate Contest

Following Hon. Dr. Lockwood Smith’s announcement of retirement as the Rodney Electorate MP, the National Party process of finding a replacement candidate has begun.

This afternoon, five members of the New Zealand National Party were confirmed as candidates for the party nomination in the Rodney Electorate. This follows candidate interviews at a meeting today of the Rodney pre-selection committee chaired by Electorate Chair Cehill Pienaar.

The five candidates will now proceed to the final selection. They will have the opportunity to campaign amongst the 60 local party delegates who will vote on 2 March 2011, to determine the Rodney National Party candidate in the general election.

Cehill Pienaar stated, “It is pleasing to see such a strong field of candidates. Rodney deserves an effective MP who can carry on the fine work of Lockwood Smith. The National Party is gearing up to ensure its candidate, whoever that may be, will be well supported to win the confidence of the people of Rodney in November.”

The five people confirmed today are:

John Kirikiri
Mark Mitchell
Christopher Penk
Brent Robinson
Scott Simpson

The selection details are as follows:
Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at 7.30pm
St Andrews Church Hall
105 Centreway Road
Orewa

Reporters note: National Party rules prevent those seeking nomination from commenting to the media.

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