A group of Kapiti Coast residents want to see their mayoral candidates slash rates.

Raumati South Residents' Association chair Trevor Daniell said candidates need to think about keeping rates down, due to the demographic makeup of the region.

"We have a community of which 26 per cent of the people are over the age of 65, and on fixed incomes. So there is a fair pressure on these people if their rates keep increasing."

Staffing numbers at Council are under scrutiny, with Daniell saying "a study compared our staff with the number of staff in the Hutt - we've got twice as many staff per capita as they have."

"That's an issue that bubbles away all the time."

Daniell also wants mayoral candidates to prioritise housing for people living on their own, and said more houses need to be built as the region grows.

"We've got 4000 people living alone out here. Some of those will be renting and they'll be being driven out as the rents go up."

"When the Expressway is in full flow people will believe that this is a great place to come and live."

The six candidates running for Mayor are Angela Buswell, David Scott, Gavin Welsh, Jackie Elliott, K Gurunathan and Ross Church.