Young and Pannett leading Lambton?

We have had word that there have been at least two polls in the hotly contested Lambton ward, and while the results haven’t been made public, we have been told that there is a trend emerging.

First we heard that the Green Party had been polling in the electorate and that the results had led to the ramping up of its campaign with the production of the glossiest of glossy flyers. We understand that the Poll put Nicola Young first followed by incumbent Green, Iona Pannett and Labour’s Mark Peck in third.

Then we heard recently that the campaign of Mr Kerry Prendergast himself, Rex Nicholls, had commissioned a poll after it was announced that he would seek election in the ward. The poll was conducted by Horizon Research and it had Pannett placed first followed by Young, with Peck once again claiming third. From what we have been told, John Dow and Nicholls were well off the pace – which comes as a surprise.

It makes sense that the three candidates who declared early are reaping the rewards, however, there is still time for the others to catch up and we don’t know whether the polls accounted for preferences which could change the order or results. But it does show that Young’s decision to gain greater profile by also running for Mayor could pay solid dividends for this race.

There may be some angst within the leaderless-Labour Party, with Peck riding very close to the fourth place position that Marcus Ganley achieved in 2010.  It was a risk choosing the reformed former Invercargill MP and Labour were outgunned by the Greens in Wellington Central in 2011, with leadership hopeful, Grant Robertson only achieving third place in the Party Vote – at least in this case, third is all Peck needs, but he might be cutting it fine.  Don’t be surprised if the Party calls on uber-campaigner and Southern ward councillor, Paul Eagle to guide and shore up the Labour effort in Lambton.