Successful Tauranga candidate Stuart Crosby was the highest campaign spender for last year’s regional council local elections.

However, spending more did not necessarily amount to wins across the board.

Of the seven Bay of Plenty Regional Council constituencies, only two were topped by the candidate spending the most on their campaign.

The highest spenders in Rotorua, Western Bay and all three Māori constituencies were not elected.

Crosby, a former Tauranga Mayor and president of Local Government New Zealand, came out on top of Tauranga voting after spending $16,606.90 on his campaign, receiving no donations.

Most of his costs were for advertising and social media.

Crosby said his spending was a reflection of the unpredictability of local elections.

“I do not take it for granted, and I always personally invest a reasonable amount in a campaign.”

Crosby admitted the contest was “quieter” than he thought it was going to be, but did not regret how much he spent.

“On reflection, I probably didn’t have to invest that much. But you don’t know how a campaign is going to go.”

“Sometimes you can invest nothing and get elected, sometimes you can invest an enormous amount and not get elected.

“I just do what I know works.”

Bay of Plenty Regional councillor Stuart Crosby. Photo / NZME

He said the best way to ensure re-election was to “do your job” when in place.

“That’s the easiest way to get the trust and confidence of the community.”

Glenn Dougal was the next-highest spending Tauranga candidate. He spent $13,372 on his slogan-driven “Practical, Regional, Dougal” campaign and was elected.

Kate Graeme spent $4875.15, while fellow successful candidates Tim Maltby and Kat MacMillan spent $758.83 and $687.70, respectively.

Ron Scott spent just over $12,000 on his campaign but finished seventh and missed out.

Scott said his turn in local politics was at an end with regional councils now due a shake-up.

In November, the Government proposed a shake-up of local government that would see regional councils replaced or restructured into mayor-led Combined Territories boards.

However, if he were to do it again, Scott said he would focus more on social media for his campaigning.

“There’s your message, and there’s the channels for your message,” he said.

“You’ve got to go where the voters are and social media is certainly one of those places.”

He said there was little to no pattern regarding who got voted into the “funny animal” that is a regional council.

Only Stuart Crosby (left) and Glenn Dougal spent more than Ron Scott (right) on their election expenses. Photo / Alex Cairns

“That’s the breaks,” he said.

Andrew von Dadelszen spent $3298.05 but was also not elected.

In Eastern Bay, former Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell topped the polls and campaign spending, with $8858.51.

Sarah McCorkindale joined him in victory, spending $5510.17. Third-placed Adrian Gault spent $7453.15 but was unsuccessful.

Elsewhere, all the highest spenders were not elected.

In the Rotorua constituency, Brett Wilson spent $7000 and finished fifth.

Wilson did not wish to comment.

Roana Bennett, mother of Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, spent the second-highest amount at $6387.03 and came in sixth.

She said she would not change anything about her campaign.

Roana Bennett was the seventh-highest-spending nominee across constituencies.

“I think I had a fairly good portfolio of marketing efforts out there, as there’s quite a wide range of people you need to be able to reach.”

She was happy with who was elected, but said name recognition counted for “an awful lot”.

“One of the challenges is trying to break through when people just don’t particularly know you.”

Jude Pani spent $3254.35 – more than the overall winner, Raj Kumar, and came in second-last.

Kumar and fellow electee Anna Grayling spent $2319.56 and $4615.74, respectively.

In Western Bay, Cathi Barker was the highest-spending candidate ($2207.39) but finished last. John Scrimgeour ($1285.40) and Ken Shirley ($805) were elected.

In the Māori constituencies, Marewa Karetai and Matemoana McDonald won their respective Kōhi and Mauao seats without receiving or spending any money. Iwi Te Whau won the Ōkūrei vote, spending $696.25.

McDonald would later be confirmed as the regional council’s first female Māori chair.

Jackie Te-Amo-Te Kurapa spent $2096.75 to finish at the bottom of Kōhi polling, while Ange Webster ($1150) and Cyrus Hingston ($1050.18) were the highest spenders in Mauao and Ōkūrei without success.

Across the entire 47-person field, four candidates, Te-Amo-Te Kurapa, Te Whau, Ngapera Rangiaho and Caitlin Grattan received donations, totalling just under $3432 compared to an overall expenditure of about $114,594.

Figures for Eastern Bay’s Jessica Gray, Tauranga’s Annika Lane, and Ōkūrei’s Te Taru White were not available at the time of publication.

Top 10 candidates by expenditure

1. Stuart Crosby (Tauranga) – $16,606.90
2. Glenn Dougal (Tauranga) – $13,372.00
3. Ron Scott (Tauranga) – $12,120.21
4. Malcolm Campbell (Eastern Bay) – $8858.51
5. Adrian Gault (Eastern Bay) – $7453.15
6. Brett  Wilson (Rotorua) – $7000.00
7. Roana Bennett (Rotorua) – $6387.03
8. Sarah McCorkindale (Eastern Bay) –  $5510.17
9. Kate Graeme (Tauranga) – $4875.15
10. Anna Grayling (Rotorua) – $4615.74

*Bold indicates the candidate was elected.

Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.