A councillor in the Grey District, in the South Island, has won her seat after her name was drawn from an office stationery basket.
Northern ward candidates Kate Kennedy and James Rogatski were tied on 199 votes. In this situation, the law says that the winner is to be decided by random draw.
Kennedy said that they wrote their names on the back of business cards and the winner was drawn from a basket.
“I was hoping for a literal hat, I did offer my arm for an arm wrestle but James said that that wouldn’t be very fair, him being far stronger than me,” she laughed.
“So that was kind of him.”
Kennedy said she felt for Rogatski for not making it through after such an unusual end to the election.
“He’s a great guy, and all three of us candidates in this electorate had a lot to offer.
“We ran a really collaborative campaign and supported each other, and it was very interesting how the votes were so close.”
