Three-way battle for mayoralty | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

The battle for Tauranga's mayoralty this year is warming up into at least a three-way contest.

With elections looming in October, Mayor Stuart Crosby has decided to stand again in an all-or-nothing bid to stay in politics.

The city's top job is also being sought by Mr Crosby's main rival in the 2007 election, Cr Murray Guy, who secured just over half the Mayor's winning tally of 15,090 votes.

However, unlike Mr Crosby, Cr Guy has hedged his bets by also seeking to retain his seat on the council, although he is undecided about whether to stand in a ward or go for one of the four at-large seats.

Nearly all councillors are rethinking their election strategies following the Local Government Commission's shock decision to axe three of the at-large seats from October's election and bolster representation in the city's three electoral wards.

Instead of the wards being a sideshow during elections, consisting of three seats on the council, the commission has doubled ward representation to six seats - two council seats per ward.

Read more in today's Bay of Plenty Times