Ashburton seeks National candidate

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 2

Ashburton seeks National candidate

Ashburton reporter Nominations for the Ashburton National Party candidate will close on Friday, but the names of the candidates will not be announced until the next Friday, February 28. All candidates will go before a pre-selection committee next week, before the top five are announced. Between February 28 and March 17, when the successful candidate is known, the candidates will speak at seven candi-date-campaign meetings in the county. The vice-chairman of the Ashburton electorates, Mr Kurt Reed, said the rushed series of meetings would be similar to an election campaign.

“If the candidates can stand up to the pressure of the meetings, they will be able to stand up to the pressure of an election,” he said. Of the 10 nominations received so far, eight were from the Ashburton electorate, said Mr Reed. The prospective candidates were well known as active members of the National Party, he said. The candidates’ ages ranged from late 20s to mid-50s. There were several women among the nominations.