Last month two Community Board chairs sent a questionnaire to all Council candidates.
John Haxton and Adrian Webster were responding to their communities’ concerns to achieve a more certain outcome from this year’s election.
“Voters want to know what candidates promise to do if elected. We’ve been told if voters know what they are voting for, many more of them will participate in the election. Candidates were asked if they would pledge support for nine policies.
“The nine policies arise from the feedback our two Boards have received from our communities so we are bound to support and promote them. They were kept as brief and as simple as possible and we wanted to know if candidates share our communities’ concerns and will do something about them.
“The questionnaire was sent to all 41 candidates, we received 21 replies,” said the two chairs.
“The following candidates promise to fully support the nine policies and so would best protect the interests of the district and its communities.
Mayor:David Mitchell and Jenny Rowan
Ōtaki Ward:Penny Gaylor
Waikanae Ward:Eric Gregory and Marie O’Sullivan
Paraparaumu Ward:Beryl Barr, Peter Daniel and K ‘Guru’ Gurunathan
Raumati/Paekākāriki Ward:Janet Holborow and Hilary Wooding
District-wide candidates:Roger Booth, Nick Fisher, David Mitchell, Don Moselen and Doris Zuur
“Four candidates supported most of the policies. Diane Ammundsen disagrees with the need for community boards. Mark Benton, Richard Halliday and Harold Thomas won’t oppose an adverse expressway plan.
“No reply or a decline to answer was received from the remaining candidates. Voters can draw their own conclusions from this. The following policies remain pressing community concerns.
1Work effectively with other Councillors as a collaborative team.
2.Work hard to keep rates down.
3.Support the continued provision of community facilities, libraries, sporting and leisure facilities at an affordable cost.
4.Oppose the privatisation of water and develop new community sources of supply.
5.Insist that development does not move ahead of roading, water, sewage and other infrastructure requirements and respects community expectations.
6.Oppose any NZ Transport Agency Expressway plan that destroys our community structure and character.
7.Work with the two Regional Councils to achieve the best outcomes for our communities on transport, health, and public safety issues.
8.Work collaboratively with other councils but resist being included in any super city arrangement.
9.Keep the current structure of community boards and wards and move Kāpiti forward while maintaining the unique characteristics of each separate community.
