Lydia Gliddon has won the Selwyn mayoralty in an overwhelming result, unseating long-time incumbent Sam Broughton.
It is a decisive victory that marks a major shift in leadership for one of New Zealand’s fastest growing districts.
Gliddon campaigned on affordability, transparency, and putting people first. She now steps into the role with a clear mandate for change and a community expecting results.
Speaking to Chris Lynch Media on Sunday night, Gliddon said the result sent a clear message from Selwyn voters.
“I think our community has come out and told us they would like change. We have had a really clear mandate from our community and now is the time. We have a fresh council and we can move forward.”
She said the support she received from residents was humbling. “When you put yourself forward, you never really know how people are going to respond. To see that level of trust and confidence from the community is really special. I am incredibly grateful.”
Gliddon said her focus would be on affordability and ensuring ratepayers receive better value for money. “The first thing we do is the annual plan. We start work now with our new council straight away and I have signalled pretty clearly that needs to be a single digit. We need to go through the council’s budgets line by line. I was criticised for that through the campaign period, but that is actually what we need to do if we are going to control our expenditure.”
She said she was surprised by some of the criticism.
“I was told that is not governance, but it is responsible spending. If we do not know where our money is going, how can we justify to our community that we need to increase rates. People are struggling, and they deserve to know their money is being spent wisely.”
The new mayor served one term as a councillor before winning Selwyn’s top job. She said honesty and openness were key to her approach.
“I think I have done the hard work over the past three years and fronted some pretty tough conversations with our community and been honest the whole time. We do not always get things right at council, but we need to own that. I think our community appreciates that I am grounded and quite frank about my thoughts.”
“I do not believe in politics behind closed doors. People should feel they can walk up to their mayor and have a conversation. I want to be visible, approachable, and genuinely connected to the community.”
Gliddon said her focus would remain on core council services such as roads, water, and infrastructure. “The first thing is the annual plan. We need to sit down with our new council and look at what we want to deliver. It is not about me making that decision. It is about our community. We need to have a broader conversation with them about what back to basics really means.”
She also acknowledged the importance of working closely with neighbouring councils, including Christchurch. “We need to work with our neighbours and we need to do that better because there are no walls between us. We all travel between our districts, and the more we work together, the better we can deliver for our communities.
“Selwyn does not exist in isolation. What happens in Christchurch affects us, and what happens here affects them. The best outcomes come when we work together, not when we compete for attention or resources.”
Reflecting on her win, Gliddon said the result had begun to sink in.
“It has taken a bit to process, but today I am starting to feel excited. I love a good project and achieving results, so I am pretty excited about where we can take this.”
She said she called Sam Broughton after the results came in. “I called Sam after I got the results and we had a conversation. I do not think either of us were expecting the numbers to be what they were. I thought it would be tighter. It is a big job to unseat an incumbent, especially one who has been the president of Local Government New Zealand.”
Gliddon said the campaign itself was an opportunity to reconnect with the community. “You set the vision for what you want to achieve and go out and do it. Campaigning can be hard and sometimes has a negative frame around it, but we wanted to bring a bit of fun and laughter to it.”
That approach included a light-hearted moment that caught attention across Selwyn. “We had two metre tall inflatable dinosaurs on street corners with our campaign signs. It was a bit of fun, something different, and people loved it. At first I thought, is this too silly? But it worked. People smiled, and that matters.”
She said the humour reflected her team’s spirit and her leadership philosophy. “Politics does not always have to be serious. You can have fun while doing meaningful work. At the end of the day, this job is about people, and people respond to authenticity.”
As she prepares for her first day in office, Gliddon said she is ready to get started.
“Change is exciting, but it also comes with responsibility. I am ready for that. I am ready to deliver on what people have asked for and to make Selwyn a place where people feel heard, valued, and proud to live.”
