With just a couple of months until voting opens, this is what we know about the most high-profile chain chases around the country. As of today, nominations for the forthcoming local elections are officially open – potential candidates have until August 1 to throw their proverbial pōtae into the ring. If you’re a New Zealand citizen, can find two people to support your bid (they have to be enrolled to vote in the area you want to stand in, but you don’t) and can scrape together $200 (it might be refunded if you get enough votes), you can fill out a form to stand as a member of a board or ward, a councillor or, indeed, a mayor. While there’s always a chance of a big surprise when the candidate lists are released on August 6, most people weighing up a bid for mayor will have made up their mind and made their decision public already – voting opens on September 9, by the way, and closes on October 11. Here’s who’s definitely in and definitely out in the bigger centres. Current deputy mayor Desley Simpson kept us guessing until early June, when she finally ruled out a bid to take her boss’s job (no doubt disappointing her son, who had registered the domain desleyformayor.co.nz at the start of the year). She’ll be supporting mayor Wayne Brown in his run for re-election, standing as Whau councillor under Brown’s Fix Auckland banner rather than with her old C&R team. Surprise late contender notwithstanding, the field is looking pretty sparse: Brown’s main challenger is likely to be Whau councillor Kerrin Leoni, who’s a Labour member but not officially endorsed by the party. The only other confirmed candidate thus far is former New Conservatives leader Ted Johnston, who came fifth in the Auckland mayoral race in 2019 and ninth in 2022. North Shore councillor Richard Hills, who had neither confirmed nor denied a bid for mayor at the time of our last mayoral race stocktake back in February, has now officially ruled himself out. With incumbent Paula Southgate calling it a day, Kirikiriroa will be getting a brand new mayor come October, and a couple of frontrunners have emerged. Left-leaning councillor Sarah Thomson, who was undecided at the time of our earlier story, has now confirmed she’s in to win, as has former National MP Tim Macindoe, who has the support of fellow “fiscal conservative” councillor Geoff Taylor. Former Labour MP Jamie Strange, who was considering a run, has now ruled it out. The race to fill the shoes of Campbell Barry, who in April announced he wouldn’t be seeking a third term as mayor of Lower Hutt, is heating up, with at least four candidates confirming their intention to run. Hutt City councillors Karen Morgan and Brady Dyer put their hands up earlier in the year, as did Prabha Ravi, who runs an Indian dance school in Avalon. They were this week joined by the world-famous-in-Wainuiomata Ken Laban, who’s a big deal in rugby league circles and is currently Lower Hutt’s representative on the Greater Wellington Regional Council. NB: The council of the city of Lower Hutt is called Hutt City Council, but the official title for the mayor who heads up that council is mayor of Lower Hutt, not mayor of Hutt City. Do not confuse either with the mighty Upper Hutt, where Peri Zee is challenging long-time incumbent Wayne Guppy for the mayoral chains. After consistently expressing her intention to run for another term, current mayor Tory Whanau dropped out of the race in late April, shortly after former Labour leader Andrew Little had thrown his hat into the ring. Little is the frontrunner, but he’s not short of opponents – at this stage they number six, all of whom have one thing in common: they’re men. Current councillor Ray Chung is Little’s biggest challenger on the right, running under the oxymoronically named ticket Independent Together. He’s joined by “slightly right-leaning centrist” and “ice cream guy” Karl Tiefenbacher, former Wellington Live owner, banana suit wearer and branch enthusiast Graham Bloxham, former Wellington City councillor Rob Goulden, “predator-free champion” Kelvin Hastie and “unapologetically progressive” accountant Alex Baker. CHRISTCHURCH Centre-right incumbent Phil Mauger is going for a second term, but he’ll be challenged by green-tinged councillor Sara Templeton. According to The Press, the last time a sitting mayor was unseated at an election in Christchurch was in 1974, but given Mauger won only narrowly in 2022, and has faced criticism for backtracking on a rates cap election promise, Templeton has a fighting chance. Still no word on whether The Wizard, whose Facebook page indicates he’s been thinking a lot about Marxists and wokeism rather than mayoral elections of late, is giving it another crack, nor perennial candidate Tubby Hansen. There’s now a healthy field of candidates taking on current Ōtepoti mayor Jules Radich, including “slightly left-of-centre” businessman and Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board chair Andrew Simms, Green Party candidate Mickey Treadwell and a bunch of current city councillors: Sophie Barker, Lee Vandervis, Mandy Mayhem and Carmen Houlahan. In a controversial move, councillors Andrew Whiley and Kevin Gilbert, who ran under Radich’s Team Dunedin ticket in 2022, have thrown their weight behind Barker for her 2025 campaign. Here’s a non-exhaustive whistle-stop tour through the rest of the country: Councillor Ann Court is taking on incumbent Moko Tepania, aka “New Zealand’s most popular mayor”, in the Far North, while Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo is facing a challenge from councillor Marie Olsen. Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson, the self-proclaimed “Trump of the north”, withdrew from the race in June to back the mayoral campaign of his current deputy, Jonathan Larsen. Councillor Ash Nayyar and businessman and community leader Snow Tane will be taking him on. Mahe Drysdale will retain his mayoral chains in Tauranga, because it did the whole election thing last year. Incumbent Tania Tapsell is having another go in Rotorua, but her challengers remain to be seen. Napier mayor Kirsten Wise is keen for a third term, but she’ll have competition from councillor Richard McGrath. Over in Hastings, mayor Sandra Hazlehurst is retiring, with councillors Wendy Schollum and Marcus Buddo and businessman Steve Gibson bidding to replace her. Incumbent Rehette Stoltz is having another crack at Gisborne, but there are no clear challengers yet. New Plymouth District councillor Sam Bennett and Murray “Muzz” McDowell are challenging current mayor Neil Holdom for the chains in Ngāmotu. Paddy Gower swears he is not, despite rumours to the contrary. Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith is standing again, with councillor Orphée Mickalad set to take him on. Andrew Tripe, mayor of Whanganui, wants a second term, and will be challenged by councillors Peter Oskam and Josh Chandulal-Mackay. In Nelson, Nick Smith is standing again, but it’s not yet clear who will be taking him on. Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor is also having another go, with no one else putting their hand up yet. Queenstown Lakes incumbent Glyn Lewers is running again, with John Glover and Nik Kiddle set to take him on. The controversial Nobby Clark will not be running for Invercargill mayor again, but a bevy of councillors are putting their hands up: Alex Crackett, Ian Pottinger, deputy mayor Tom Campbell and former NZ First MP Ria Bond. No word yet on Bluff wizard Noel Peterson, who was thinking about having another crack after 2022’s disappointing result. In Gore, Ben Bell – who had a rather eventful first term as New Zealand’s youngest mayor – is standing again, with any challengers yet to emerge.