Cambridge Connections reset underway
Mayor Susan O’Regan, Cambridge ward councillor Mike Pettit, Maori ward councillor Dale-Maree Morgan and Maungatautari councillor Mike Montgomerie will be part of the Cambridge Connections Project Governance group for the next 10 weeks.
They will be joined by project sponsor Steph O’Sullivan, Strategy general manager Kirsty Downey, Service Delivery group manager Eeva-Liisa Wright and business owner, Transportation manager Bryan Hudson.
The decision was made today by Waipa District Council’s Strategic Planning and Policy committee after considering a paper by Executive director Katie Mayes on refreshing Cambridge Connections. The committee approved Cambridge Connections – Moving Forward Together – a plan to develop a 30-year plan of transport services and infrastructure to support Cambridge’s growth and delivery on community aspirations.
“This iteration will be infinitely more collaborative than the last and is greater and bigger than any single one of us and greater and bigger than just a bridge and broader and longer than just a few years,” said O’Regan.
See: Blue Blob showdown
1 August 2025 – 3.30pm
We have ourselves an election with a record number of nominations in the Cambridge ward for the four vacancies on Waipa District Council. Fourteen people have put their names forward for the council and 13 for the community board.
In Maungatautari Mike Montgomerie is the only nominee and is elected unopposed while Dale-Maree Morgan and Yvonne Waho will contest the Waipa Maori ward.
Susan O’Regan faces expected opposition from senior councillors Mike Pettit and Clare St Pierre for the Waipa mayoralty.
Family members are standing in Waikato Regional Council’s Waipa-King Country constituency with brother and sister-in-law Garry Reymer and current Waipa deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk going up against incumbents Stuart Kneebone and Clyde Graf.
And over in the Waikato district in the Tamahere-Woodlands ward sitting member Mike Keir, who said he was not standing, has had a change of heart and will contest one of the two seats. Incumbent Crystal Beavis is standing again as is Waikato Cherry Tree Festival organiser Anne Cao-Oulton, Mark Manson and Act’s Peter Mayall.
Former deputy mayor Aksel Bech is going head to head with Jacqui Church for the mayoralty.
Waipa mayoralty x 1
Susan O’Regan
Mike Pettit
Clare St Pierre
Cambridge Ward x 4
Aidhean Camson
Mike Cater
Philip Coles
Jo Davies-Colley
Roger Gordon
Ian Hayton
Stuart Hylton
Pip Kempthorne
Karla Lugatiman
Dave Marinkovich
Stuart Matthews
Barry Quayle
Don Sanders
Hope Spooner
Waipa Maori ward x 1
Dale-Maree Morgan
Yvonne Waho
Cambridge Community Board x 4
Graeme Allen
Curt Christiansen
Stewart Dromgool
Charlotte Fitzpatrick
Mitchell Jordan
Pip Kempthorne
Chris Minnee
Karen Morris
Corren Ngerengere
Selina Oliver
James Slyfield
Te Hiiri Taute
Gerda Venter
Maungatautari x 1
Les Bennett
Andrew Myers
Waikato District Council mayor x 1
Aksel Bech
Jacqui Church
Tamahere-Woodlands ward x 2
Crystal Beavis
Gurpreet Bassan
Anne Cao-Oulton
Mike Keir
Mark Manson
Peter Mayall
Waikato Regional Council
Waipa-King Country constituency x 2
Clyde Graf
Stuart Kneebone
Garry Reymer
Liz Stolwyk
1 August 11am
Board elections
Get on board – that’s the theme for the upcoming triennial school board elections.
Boards, formerly boards of trustees, play a critical role in the education system, said New Zealand School Boards Association president Meredith Kennett.
“They make decisions that affect students, teachers and whānau across the country.”
Nominations for Cambridge High School closed on Wednesday while Te Awamutu College, Te Kūiti High and Ōtorohanga College close next week.
Closing dates vary across Waipā and King Country for primary schools but voting closes on September 10 with boards taking office the following week.
St Peter’s School is an independent school and chooses its trust board – made up of between seven and nine trustees who serve three-year terms to a maximum of 12 years.
Eligible voters for state and state-integrated (former private) schools should have received details by post or by email.
30 July 2025 6pm
Vehicles collide
Car accident Victoria St
Police, ambulance and Cambridge Volunteer Fire Brigade all attended a crash involving two vehicles following a collision in Hamilton Road on Sunday afternoon. The vehicles collided about 550m west of St Andrew’s Anglican Church. It is understood one driver suffered a medical event. The other driver suffered minor injuries. Emergency services helped clear the vehicles off the road, direct traffic, arrange towing and provide medical assistance. The road was cleared by 3pm.
Roads named
Basaltic Rd, Karā Place and Frances Hunt Lane are new names approved by Waipā’s Service and Delivery committee for Karāpiro and a private road in Cambridge’s Kelly Rd extension. Basaltic and Karā refer to types of volcanic rock found beside the Waikato River near Karāpiro. Frances Hunt was a landscape artist who was born in Cambridge in 1890 and went on to become one of New Zealand’s most popular artists. The private road name replaces Ulmer Lane which did not secure approval from the family.
Candidate withdraws
Fabio Rodrigues has lived in Pōkeno since he was 8.
Fabio Rodrigues has withdrawn as a Waikato district mayoral candidate throwing his support behind former deputy mayor Aksel Bech’s second all or nothing bid to be mayor and oust incumbent Jacqui Church. Rodrigues, 19, will stand as a councillor in the Pōkeno-Tuakau ward.
Leases extended
Tasman Wakelin in action at the Cambridge BMX track.
Cambridge and District Senior Citizens’ Association and Cambridge BMX Club have had their leases extended for council land in Victoria Street and Milton/Lamb Streets. Annually, the association will pay $192 plus GST and the BMX club $653 with a $405 and $392 administration fee.
Liquor bans
A section of the large crowd during the Waka Ama Sprint Champs pōwhiri held at Lake Karāpiro.
A temporary alcohol ban for specified events will again be in place at Lake Karāpiro during events from this month through to May next year. Before 2011, alcohol consumption at events caused a high level of disorder. Since then bans have mitigated this and alcohol-related disorders substantially reduced.
Financial result
Waipā District Council’s expenditure for the financial year ended June 30 was $12.8 million more than budgeted mainly driven by non-cash adjustments for assets written off ahead of the revaluation of council’s assets for the annual report as well as a loss on investment properties and forestry assets. Operating income of $163.5 million came in at 99 per cent of forecast revenue.
By elections?
The orange man is used extensively in Electoral Commission publicity to advertise elections
A lack of community board nominations could force costly by elections in Maungatautari, Cambridge and Te Awamutu/Kihikihi. When The News went to press there were no nominations for the one Maungatautari seat – although Andrew Myers previously confirmed he would restand – one in Te Awamutu and two in Cambridge for the four seats on each board. Elections are confirmed for the mayoralty and council positions in Cambridge and Te Awamutu/Kihikihi.
Money owed
Ratepayers owed $1.2 million at the end of Waipā’s financial year on June 30 and $183,000 from previous years. Water rates owing were $936,000 with 94 per cent collected.
