Hawke’s Bay Regional Council transport manager Katie Nimon has been confirmed as the National Party candidate for the Napier seat in the 2023 election and will likely face a rematch against incumbent Labour MP Stuart Nash.

Nash said he was the only Labour nominee for the Napier candidacy. Nominations have closed and his nomination has been accepted, but he is yet to be officially confirmed as the Labour candidate through party processes.

“That will probably happen in late January, but at this point, absolutely that is my intention.”

The National Party officially announced Nimon’s candidacy on Saturday.

 “It’s an honour to be selected as National’s candidate in Napier and I’ll hit the ground running to earn the right to represent the area I love as part of Chris Luxon’s National team,” Nimon said in a statement.

“I’m passionate about Napier and I’ve dedicated my career to delivering for our city and Hawke’s Bay. Now I’m fighting for the opportunity to keep delivering for Napier as its next local MP.”

She said Labour’s approach to the cost of living and the economy wasn’t working and a change of government was needed, and that issues like Three Waters were of particular concern to people in Napier.

 “These reforms strip us of local control over our water assets and hand it to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats. National is listening, we’ll repeal and replace Three Waters.”

National would also do more than Labour to tackle crime, she said.

“Gang membership in the Eastern Police District has increased by over 60 per cent under Labour and you can see the effects of that across Napier. National’s plan would back our police with the tools they need to tackle gangs and the misery they create.

“I’m really aspirational for our city, and if I earn the right to be Napier’s new MP, I’ll be accessible, hardworking and laser-focused on the issues that matter to Napier.”

In the 2020 election, Nimon lost to Nash with 15,469 votes to his 21,325 votes.

IronMāori founder Heather Te Au-Skipworth was recently named as Te Pāti Māori’s candidate for Ikaroa-Rawhiti earlier in the month.