Ahead of the 2016 Auckland Council elections (voting closes 8 October), more than 100 people attended an engaging and at times lively evening, organised jointly with our friends at the Mission Bay and Kohimarama Residents Association.
All four Ward Councillor candidates and 13 of the 14 Local Board candidates made their pitches for our votes and answered questions on a range of topics. Many of those present commented favourably on how impressed they were with the way candidates presented themselves and articulated clear, relevant and distinct views on a range of issues.
Questions tabled by the Residents Associations challenged the Councillor candidates to:
- Name the top three things they would try to achieve if elected
- Describe how they would work with others to achieve the best outcomes for Auckland and the Orakei Ward
- Describe how they would secure funding for projects in our area.
Then the Orakei Local Board candidates fielded questions on a range of local issues including:
- The GI-Tamaki Drive Shared Walk/Cycleway (aka the Eastern Path)
- Meadowbank Community Centre upgrade
- Protecting our green spaces
- How they would manage the 20 hours a week commitment that the role demands.
Questions from the floor covered off a wider range of topical subjects including traffic safety and intensification in the Orakei area. The evening ended with mixing and mingling over tea, coffee and home baking, the latter for which we have apparently now become famous! The conversations flowed until well past 10 pm.
Voting is open until 8 October. As we were reminded on the night: “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain!”
Kit Parkinson addresses the crowd at our ‘Meet the Local Candidates’ event. Photo: Desley Simpson