Handford was on 37.5% and Costley at 33.6%, according to the poll results. Previous polling on local electorate races has proven notoriously unreliable. The Kāpiti electorate – created by the Representation Commision last year when it adjusted electorate boundaries – succeeded the classic bellwether seat Ōtaki, keeping most of its territory. “In no means does it show us that we’re guaranteed a win,” said Handford, a climate activist who founded the New Zealand School Strike 4 Climate and a former Kāpiti Coast district councillor. The Kāpiti Coast District Council has formally requested to change the regional proposal to have its own authority, with mayor Janet Holborow saying the resident’s survey was hard to ignore.