Hastings mayoral election 2025

The story so far

In late September 2025, a printing error in Hastings left 27 candidate profiles out of local election voting booklets, with the booklets skipping from page 12 to page 29 and some wards affected. A former Hawke's Bay mayor called for the booklets to be reprinted.^{25 Sep 2025} In the Hastings mayoral race, Wendy Schollum led with about 85 per cent of votes counted, but her closest rival had not conceded and the final result was to depend on special votes. Schollum later claimed victory with 95 per cent of the count completed, leading Marcus Buddo by 545 votes. Buddo had not conceded defeat.^{11, 12 Oct 2025}

Latest

Schollum has claimed the Hastings mayoralty while Buddo has yet to concede, with the final results still awaited.^{12 Oct 2025}

What's next

The final result for the mayoralty will be determined once special votes are processed.^{11 Oct 2025}

Key moments

1. 25 Sep 2025Printing error leaves 27 candidate profiles out of Hastings voting booklets.
2. 25 Sep 2025Former Hawke's Bay mayor calls for the booklets to be reprinted.
3. 11 Oct 2025Schollum leads the Hastings mayoral race with about 85 per cent counted.
4. 12 Oct 2025Schollum claims victory, leading Buddo by 545 votes at 95 per cent counted.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.