Central Hawke's Bay mayoral candidate Alex Walker bucks trend with tabloid brochure

LIGHT: CHB mayoral candidate Sally Butler feels rival candidate Alex Walker's latest campaign mail-out is light on specifics. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

CHB mayoral candidate Alex Walker has upped the ante in this year's Central Hawke's Bay District Council local government election campaigns, with the publication of a four-page newspaper-style brochure outlining her background and vision for the district.

Titled a "2016 Election Exclusive", the tabloid was distributed to every household in the district, and had been part of her strategy from the start, she said.

"I have been campaigning about doing things differently and wanted to show that my style of communication stands out and that if I can do it for myself I can do it for the district."

The brochure gives an insight into her family background, her business The Chook House, her governance experience and her thoughts on the current council.

She said she collated all the content herself, which she pulled together from her campaign speeches, articles that had been written, opinion pieces and people she knows.

"I had lots of stories to tell about different parts of my life and my thoughts.

"Telling those stories on social media is good but that only reaches a few people and I wanted to get this across the community.

"I needed everybody to understand my story so they could have confidence in me and see I would be open and honest in my communications.

"It was my job to put myself out there for people to trust me."

She said the brochure was printed locally in Central Hawke's Bay and distributed via Reach Media to all town and rural residences.

While it was time intensive, she said it was relatively cost effective considering how many people it reached.

Fellow mayoral candidate Gerard Pain said he had not yet read it from cover to cover but from what he had seen it appeared very thorough.

"I have no problem with it - it's none of my business how she conducts her campaign - if that's how she wants to do it good luck to her."

Councillor Sally Butler, also running for mayor, thought it was a bit light on specifics.

"It was very much dealing with the individual and her own life circumstances, but I felt it was very light on her aims for the community, identifying problems or plans for action that are needed.

"It was just a call for change with no specifics, which I found disappointing."