Nominations open today for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council by-election to fill the vacant Eastern Bay of Plenty general constituency seat.

The by-election is required following the recent passing of Councillor Malcolm Campbell and will look to fill the seat for the remainder of the 2025-2028 triennium.

Regional Council chief executive Fiona McTavish encourages those who have an interest in helping represent and shape the region to put their name forward.

“The next two years are going to be incredibly important in setting the future direction of local government in the Bay of Plenty,” she said.

“Along with the roll out of the Government’s Simplifying Local Government programme, there are still important regional decisions that will be required to be made, and we still have significant responsibilities to deliver for our communities and environment.

“It’s important those decisions continue to be made with full representation in place.”

McTavish said for anyone considering standing, this was an opportunity to help shape the region through a period of real change.

“The decisions made over the next few years will matter and strong elected representation remains important.”

Electoral Officer Warwick Lampp said anyone interested should take the time now to find out more about the role and make sure their nomination was submitted on time.

“Nominations must be received by 12pm on Thursday 16 July, but we encourage people to get them in early so we can make sure all the information that’s provided is correct and meets the requirements,” Lampp said.

Candidate information and nomination forms will be available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website from Thursday, June 18, at www.boprc.govt.nz/elections

If more than one nomination is received, a voting process will be triggered, with voter packs delivered from Monday, August 24, through the post.

Voting will close at 12pm on Friday, September 25, with preliminary results expected to be available soon after.