Here are "The People's Choice 2021" candidates for Christchurch's October elections...
  1. Ben Ross
    Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board
    Natalie Bryden
    Riccarton-Wigram Community Board
    Jimmy Chen
    Riccarton-Wigram Council & Community Board

    Ben is a filmmaker and has experience in helping people work as a team to achieve a goal. His concerns are community funding, keeping local people in jobs and the environment.

    Natalie has lived in the area for 41 years and worked for the District Health Board. She's been a committee member and chair of South Hornby School's Board of Trustees for 6 years.

    Jimmy works across many public and community services. He knows the area and is keen to engage people, improve safety and promote open and transparent decision making.

     

  2. Judy Kirk
    Riccarton-Wigram Community Board
    Glenn Livingstone
    Burwood-Pegasus Council
    Brenda Lowe-Johnson
    Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board

    Judy is a current Community Board member for the Riccarton - Wigram ward. She is involved in a number of other organisations for youth, education and the wider community.

    Glenn has worked as a Presbyterian Minister for 20 years. He has advocated for Social Housing tenants clean water and balance between city and ward bus needs.

    Brenda is a Community Board member and has lived in the ward for 23 years. She has pioneered programmes for low income people and wants a strong, safe and healthy community.

     

  3. Islay McLeod
    Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board
    Paul McMahon
    Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board
    Mike Mora
    Riccarton-Wigram Council & Community Board

    Islay lives in Linwood. She loves the area and wants to restore the community and environmental values that once had Christchurch residents proud to live here.

    Paul works as an associate pastor at Opawa Baptist Church and is on the Waltham Youth Trust. He believes in developing communities and building trust within them.

    Mike has served on the Community Board for 18 years. He has vast experience, knowledge and understanding of the ward. Mike enjoys finding practical solutions to issues.

  4. Linda Stewart
    Burwood-Pegasus Community Board
    Nicky Taylor
    Burwood-Pegasus Community Board
    Peter Taylor
    Hagley-Ferrymead Council & Community Board

    A board member for three years, Linda has a Community Service Award and is on Keep Christchurch Beautiful and Civil Defence. The environment and safe, happy communities are concerns for her.

    Nicky Taylor has worked in the community sector for fifteen years. She wants to work with the area on the environment, employment and helping people feel safe in their homes.

    peter-taylor-tPeter feels the best people to determine how our rates should be spent are residents. He wants to protect waterways, our city water supply and have an area where we all feel safe.

     

  5. Phil Clearwater
    Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board
    Pauline Cotter
    Shirley-Papanui Council & Community Board
    James Dann
    Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board

    Phil has chaired the Community Board for the last three terms. His concerns are road safety, traffic congestion, children's learning centres and reducing isolation for older people.

    Pauline has lived in St Albans for 22 years and was elected to the Shirley - Papanui Community Board in 2007, as a result of her successful stand on the Edgeware Pool closure.

    james-dann-mChristchurch born and bred, James is a health researcher, working on endometrial cancer genetics. James writes music and sings in a band. He is very concerned about water issues.

     

  6. Jasmin Teague
    Burwood-Pegasus Community Board
    Chrissie Williams
    Burwood-Pegasus Council & Community Board
    Tim Baker
    Burwood-Pegasus Community Board

    Jasmin has strong experience working in the health sector. She is one of our youngest candidates and possesses a vibrant personality and a positive attitude.

    Chrissie is a councillor for Burwood Pegasus. She supports controlling rates, maintaining services, pure tap water, cleaner rivers, bus clearways and cycle networks.

    Tim is known for his role on the Aranui Primary School board and has written four books on the area. Tim advocates for beautifying Christchurch and reducing tagging.

     

  7. Tracey Dorreen
    Shirley-Papanui Community Board
    Paul Findlay
    Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board
    Ishwar Ganda
    Riccarton-Wigram Community Board

    Tracey is a dynamic, energetic woman with several years of community involvement. She is willing to stand up for the underdog and speak for those who cannot speak up for themselves.

    Paul feels his fresh and energetic approach will be useful in serving the community he grew up in. He is involved in many community and youth organisations and projects.

    ishwar-ganda-tIshwar has lived in the ward and served the community for many years.  A Queens Service Order recipient, he is passionate about our Garden City, its quality of life and family values. 

     

  8. Julie Gorman
    Burwood-Pegasus Community Board
    Darel Hall
    Shirley-Papanui Community Board
    Yani Johanson
    Hagley-Ferrymead Council

    Julie is a Correspondence School liaison teacher and has served as a deputy and acting principal at a local school. She wants to represent an area she has been part of for 40 years.

    Darel has been an educator for over 20 years. He has a focus on tertiary policy and actively campaigned against rent increases and cuts to community funding.

    Yani is the youngest current city councillor at 35 years old. He is committed to fighting hard for the values of openness, transparency and democracy around the Council.

     

  9. Karolin Potter
    Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board
    Tim Scandrett Spreydon-Heathcote
    Council & Community Board
    Cameron Stewart
    Shirley-Papanui Community Board

    karolin-potter-tKarolin is an educator in the Human Rights Commission, a JP and a current community board member. Concerns are gaps between those who have and do not and the environment.

    tim-scandrett-tTim is currently a member of the community board and has lived in the area his entire life. He believes facilities, services and natural resources need responsible investment.

    Cameron was formerly on the Papanui High School Board of Trustees. He was involved in many organisations at the university and hopes for a safe, vibrant area where all are welcome.

     

Mayoral candidate, Jim Anderton, says if he is elected he will move to restore the funding and powers of grass roots Community Boards. This will put more local decision making back into local hands by extending the funding over which Community Boards have authority.

Locally elected Boards are best positioned to reflect the priorities of their own communities. Christchurch received international recognition for its record in balancing "efficiency and democracy" when Vicki Buck and Gary Moore were mayors between 1993 and 2001. Community Boards were seen as a key feature of this recognition.

"Today, Board members have been sidelined, and are often excluded or barely consulted over some important elements of decisions about local issues like bus lanes or shopping centres," Jim Anderton said.

"Staff support for Community Boards has also been reduced so that reports and advice to Board members are either slow in coming or are not there at all.

"Community Boards are at the coal face of local government. We have to support and resource them to make sure they can meet the demands of their communities. Toothless boards will not have the respect of their communities and are of no use to anyone. Local people know their neighbourhoods best so we need to get more decisions away from the Council table and back into the hands of the people through their Community Boards.

"This policy is not about how much we spend – it is about getting the process right, and that means involving local people in local decision making.

"Community Boards have had their funding in real terms cut significantly, and are often ignored. I want to see the trust between the Council and Boards re-built so we can get on with servicing the people of our city together.

"Funding to the Urban Community Boards has been reduced from $400,180 from last year's budget to $362,644 this year. That's a cut of 9.4%. The funding allocation for each of the Urban Community Boards in 1999 was $380,000 which if inflation adjusted, would now be $530,000.

"I want to see those levels of funding re-instated. No additional Council funding would be required because there would simply be a transfer of funds for the same purposes but with priorities decided by local community representatives rather than the full Council. The full Council, as is reasonable, has the final say on major projects affecting the whole city of Christchurch. But if Community Boards have less money to administer, high priority local projects are less likely to be funded.

"The Local Government Commission in 2004 reduced the number of Christchurch City Councillors from 24 to 12 which should have made the role of Community Boards more, not less important. Community Boards, were then, and are now, happy to pick up the extra workload but they want the resources and the authority to do their job properly. They have been sorely let down by the Council in that regard.

"Christchurch Community Boards have traditionally had advisory or decision making powers over local issues like roads, parks, libraries, recreational facilities, community development programmes and other projects that directly affect the local community.

 
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People's Choice sounds warning

For three years the current Mayor and Council ignored the public, made decisions in secret, spent $17m on the Henderson deal, and tried to raise Council housing rents by 24%.

Can they be relied on to care for the displaced? To listen to community views on rebuilding? To manage ratepayer funds prudently? To avoid both long-term 'bomb sites' and cheap-and-nasty building?

 
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Phone & write...

Darel Hall, Chair
The People's Choice 2021

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11 Warden Street
Richmond
Christchurch 8013
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Tel: 03 385 9299
Mob: 021 708 510

Candidates in Cathedral Square.