Neil Gillespie to stand for ORC - step down from CODC

Long term councillor and Deputy Mayor Neil Gillespie is to step down from the Central Otago District Council. He's going to stand for election for the Otago Regional Council's new expanded (four ORC seats up from three) Dunstan Ward. 

Mr Gillespie has been CODC Deputy Mayor for the past 15 years and a district councillor since 2021.

Speaking to Crux this morning (May 26) Mr Gillespie said his experience is needed and relevant at a Regional Council level.

"There's lots of challenges facing local government. You need to experienced elected members. I started thinking when the fourth Dunstan seat was added, because of my resource management experience and working for Contact Energy all those years in that sort of space around consenting and compliance and policies I thought, you know, that's where my skillset is.

"As long as I worked for Contact the ORC wasn't an option because of potential conflicts of interest with contractors and consents and so on."

Mr Gillespie said he had no particular position on the potential ORC power shift from Dunedin to Central Otago and the Southern Lakes, or between a focus on agricultural interests versus town interests.

"For all these years, I've been part of a team that's worked hard to try and do the best thing, the right thing for the community that we serve.

"I look at ORC and say, it's no different, the issues are different but the way it should be managed is the same. So I'm looking forward to having opportunity to be part of a team that can work together for the greater good. It's not about me, not about my politics, not about Neil. It's about a team working together. So that's what I want to be part of and I'm looking forward to that opportunity."

CODC Mayor Tamah Alley says Mr Gillespie will be greatly missed.

"Deputy Mayor Gillespie has served the CODC community for 27 years – an outstanding contribution to the people of Central Otago. While you never know what elections will bring, he will leave big shoes to fill at the local council table.

"His knowledge, expertise, and ability to bring alternative viewpoints or “what about” conversations will be greatly missed. Neil’s particular set of skills and experience in relation to the work of a regional council would be a natural fit. There is still a lot of work to be undertaken before elections, and I know Neil remains 100% committed to CODC for the rest of this term."