Elections

A by-election for the Eastern Bay of Plenty General Constituency Seat has been held.

Eastern Bay of Plenty General Constituency Seat by-election

Due to a vacancy caused by the unexpected death of Councillor Malcolm Campbell, a by-election for the Eastern Bay of Plenty General Constituency seat has been held.

Final results

The final result for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council by-election that closed at midday on Friday, 25 September 2026 is:

Eastern Bay of Plenty Regional Constituency (1 Vacancy)		Votes Received
Victor Luca	Independent	3491

Toi Iti		2032
Jessica Sneha Gray		894
Dayle Hunia		804
Richard Collins	Think Positive	516

INFORMAL		31
BLANK VOTING PAPERS		15

Victor Luca is declared elected.

The voter return was 31.74%, being 7,783 votes.

Warwick Lampp
Electoral Officer - Bay of Plenty Regional Council
28 September 2026

Progress results

The progress results for the Eastern Bay of Plenty General seat by-election held on Friday 25 September are as follows.

This result is based upon the counting of approximately 90% of the returned voting papers. The progress result does not include special votes and voting papers returned today that are still in transit to the processing centre. The outcome of this election may change once all voting papers have been counted.

Eastern Bay of Plenty Regional Constituency (1 vacancy)	Votes Received
Victor Luca	3355

Toi Iti	1930
Jessica Sneha Gray	859
Dayle Hunia	772
Richard Collins	498

INFORMAL	30
BLANK VOTING PAPERS	14

The voter return percentage is currently 30.44%, being 7,458 votes.

A preliminary result for this by-election is expected to be released by 5pm 25 September 2026.

Warwick Lampp
Electoral Officer
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
25 September 2026

Preliminary Results

The preliminary results for the Eastern Bay of Plenty General seat by-election held on Friday 25 September are as follows.

Eastern Bay of Plenty Regional Constituency (1 vacancy)	Votes Received
Victor Luca	3476

Toi Iti	2015
Jessica Sneha Gray	891
Dayle Hunia	802
Richard Collins	516

INFORMAL	31
BLANK VOTING PAPERS	15

The voter return percentage is currently 31.61%, being 7,746 votes.

There are 43 special votes yet to be processed. The final result, incorporating those special votes that are verified is expected to be available by 4.00pm, Monday 28 September 2026.

Warwick Lampp
Electoral Officer
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
25 September 2026

Key information

Meet the candidates events

In the lead up to this by-election, community groups were invited to host a ‘Meet the Candidates’ event. Funding was available groups meeting the criteria to help support these events.

List of Meet the Candidate events

Key dates

Candidate nominations open Thursday 18 June

Roll opens for public inspection

Candidate nominations close 12noon. Thursday 16 July

Roll closes

Voting documents posted out Monday 24 August

Voting opens

Voting closes at 12noon Friday 25 September

Preliminary results available

Declaration of final results Monday 28 September

Confirmed candidates

Candidate profiles and videos.

Each candidate was also offered the opportunity to film a short video answering the same questions - these will be loaded to the candidate information page before voting opens on Monday 24 August.

Candidate name	Affiliation	Phone number	Email	Nominated by
Toi Iti	-	027 255 0073	itinui@gmail.com	Marie Dwyer, Claire House
Victor Luca	Independent	027 749 8888	victorlucanz@gmail.com	Sandy Milne, Raewyn Kingsley-Smith
Jessica Sneha Gray		022 0806 780	jessica.gray@drjg.co.nz	Kevin Lynch, Daniel Barnard
Richard Collins	Think Positive	021 080 87038	richard@thinkpositive.nz	Sharon Rehu, Desmond Young
Dayle Hunia			Dayle@kotukusystems.com	David Paine, Danae Lee

Information for candidates

For more detailed information about what it means to be a Regional Councillor, visit our Information for candidates page.

This page has useful information for candidates, including a link to the candidate information webinar which was recorded as part of the 2025 elections.

Pre-election Report 2025

This pre-election report gives voters and candidates a snapshot of Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s work programme and its finances.

Pre-election report

Māori Constituency Referendum/Polls

The Regional Council is not required to hold a poll as part of these elections.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council introduced its Māori constituencies in 2001, under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001, and they became operational in 2004.

Maori Constituency Legislation changes in 2022 require councils that introduced Māori wards or constituencies after 2020 to hold a binding poll to determine whether those wards or constituencies will continue beyond 2028. Where required, the poll will be included as part of the 2025 voting paper.

Previous elections information

View information about previous elections here, including results and candidate expense and donations reporting.

BOPRC Representation Review 2024

Every six years councils must review how communities are represented in the make-up of their council. A representation review looks at the structures in place, including the number of constituencies (electoral areas) and their boundaries, the number of elected members (councillors) representing each constituency and the names of our General and Māori constituencies.

The 2024 Representation Review is now complete and has resulted in Council having 14 Councillors representing 4 general constituencies (Western Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty) and 3 Māori constituencies (Mauao, Ōkurei and Kōhi).

To read the Local Government Commissions determination please visit Bay-of-Plenty-Regional-Council-Determination-2024.pdf

For general information about the project please visit Participate BOPRC.