Napier city councillor Michelle Pyke seeking third term

Michelle Pyke will rerun in a bid for her third term on the Napier City Council.

Second-term at-large Napier city councillor Michelle Pyke is putting her hat back in the ring for a third term, with "a particular focus on continuing to represent the most vulnerable and disadvantaged" Napier citizens and progress the joint councils' shared services opportunities.

Ms Pyke said her goals for the 2016-19 term were to strengthen council's activities within the Safer Napier strategy, support the implementation of the REDS (Regional Economic Development Strategy) Action Plan and to ensure that Napier's most vulnerable are always considered in the "big picture" balance of fiscal prudence while also adding to Napier's community assets.

"I will continue to speak out on the serious social issues that affect residents, especially when central government abdicates or devolves responsibilities on to the local community," she said.

"The current Local Government Act Amendment No2 Bill is another blatant attempt to severely impede local democracy and to install excessive ministerial powers that could produce an 'amalgamation by decree' among other unwelcome bogies.

"Another example is Napier's current policing reality, felt as a fundamental and critical loss of our community's sense of being safe and protected in our city, the result of a political shifting of the goalposts via the same pathway that the former Napier Hospital went on."

She said the widening social disparities "are visible in every city" and councils alone "are not the silver bullet", however strong local representation was necessary when engaging with central government and its myriad of agencies.

"Fortunately that's my proven forte and the strengths I demonstrated in my first two terms working for Napier city."

The councillor was the second highest polling candidate in the 2013 election.

Her fellow Maraenui Donations trustee, Adrienne McLean, was one of the people who nominated her for re-election, while the other was her son, Donovan Hannay.

She said she had also been approached to stand for the Hastings District Council. While flattered at the suggestion, especially after her "strong stance on the anti-amalgamation front", she laughed at the tagline that was suggested, "Hastings - Needing a Little Bit of Napier!".