Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has shared the final results of the local body elections which showed no change to the outcome of the preliminary results.

Glyn Lewers, with 4,382 votes, was confirmed as mayor, finishing ahead of his closest challengers, Jon Mitchell and Olivia Wensley, by around 600 and 1,800 votes respectively.

Wānaka-Upper Clutha ward councillors will include Quentin Smith (3,583 votes), Barry Bruce (2,658 votes), Lyal Cocks (2,464 votes) and Cody Tucker (2,369 votes).

According to convention, the highest polling Wānaka candidate (Quentin) may be asked to be deputy mayor, but that decision is up to the new mayor and will be announced on October 20.

The Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board will be made up of Simon Telfer (3,324 votes), Chris Hadfield (2,478), John Wellington (2,182) and Linda Joll (1,951). 

Simon Telfer is one of three new faces on the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board, the final vote tally has confirmed.

A decision on who will become chair of the new board will be made at the board’s first meeting, which will be late this month or early in November.

Lyal told the Wānaka App he is looking forward to getting “stuck in to” active transport projects including the ‘Schools to Pool’ route; mountable roundabouts at key intersections; and to get a Wānaka Airport development plan proposal to the community for consideration.

Former Wānaka councillor and deputy mayor Lyal Cocks will represent the district as a councillor again.

Simon also said there was a lot he was looking forward to getting started on.

“I’m looking forward to accelerating the roll out of our cycleway network, establishing the Mt Iron Reserve, planning for Wānaka Airport’s future and creating a people focussed town centre,” he said.

Meanwhile, Linda said she was most enthusiastic about getting cracking on incomplete projects like the Lakefront Development Plan and active transport objectives, as well as improving communication between the board and the community.

The final results also confirm Craig (Ferg) Ferguson, Lisa Guy, and Neeta Shetty were elected to the Arrowtown-Kawarau Ward; and Matt Wong, Esther Whitehead, Gavin Bartlett, and Niki Gladding were elected to the Queenstown-Whakatipu Ward.

The final voter return was 43.05 percent - 12,092 votes. This compares to 47.02 percent in 2019 and 54.16 percent in 2016. 

PHOTOS: Supplied