Mayoral bid launched on hole 5 of golf course
“What do they call it, a soft launch? The soft launch matches my [golf swing]."
Maybe sport and politics do mix.
Invercargill City Councillor, and keen golfer, Ian Pottinger has opted for an unusual way to confirm that he will have a crack at becoming the city’s mayor in October.
Pottinger announced his mayoral bid by sponsoring hole 5 at the Invercargill Golf Club at Otatara for the popular Invercargill Gold Cup tournament at the weekend.
His sponsorship included getting to erect a sign on hole 5 which read: “Ian Pottinger Prospective Candidate for October 2025”.
After being tipped off about the sign, The Tribune contacted Pottinger who confirmed that the sign was him officially announcing that he was standing for mayor.
“What do they call it, a soft launch? The soft launch matches my [golf swing],” Pottinger joked.
“It is just a novel way of getting it out there. It was tied in with sponsoring a hole and I took the opportunity.”
Pottinger thought the golf course was a nice place for him to confirm his intentions.
The five-term Invercargill City Councillor is a member of the Invercargill Golf Club and a regular player at the course.
Pottinger often plays first thing in the morning on weekdays when the sun has barely risen.
“I beat the green keeper out there,” Pottinger said.
He joins fellow councillors Tom Campbell and Alex Crackett who have already confirmed they will stand for the mayoralty at the next election in October.
A fourth councillor, Ria Bond, is also tipped to stand but she hasn’t yet publicly confirmed that.
Pottinger said he was probably a “roughie” if he was to use a bookmaker’s term, but he still felt he was a chance of winning the election.
“Basically, the planets have aligned, and I feel like this is the next step. I’ve been there five terms on council. This is a leadership role I initially doubted if I wanted, but I have no doubt now.
“I want to lead from the front.”
He said there was “a lot of water to flow under the bridge” before the election and he would firm up his plans and policies closer to October.
However, he said there would be three key parts to his campaign which were, “efficiency”, “standards”, and sustainability”.
As for the golf, 132 golfers took to the Otatara course on Saturday for the Invercargill Gold Cup, including Pottinger.
Mark Hotton and Nathan Burdon were winners of the Invercargill Gold Cup, the second time they have done so after also winning it in 2021.
Tom Morton is also running again, he was doing some door knocking last month.