Ruapehu candidate workshops help council hopefuls

Mayor Don Cameron

More than 30 people attended two candidate workshops in the Ruapehu area recently for those interested in standing in the local body elections.

The workshops - for anyone thinking of standing for a council or community board position, attracted 19 potential candidates in Taumarunui and 13 to Wednesday night's meeting in Ohakune.

"Our district faces some big challenges and we need to ensure that we have elected representatives that have the energy, leadership ability, and diversity of skills to meet these head on," Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron said.

The candidate workshops have been part of the council's support for the Local Government New Zealand campaign Vote2016, aimed at building stronger communities through increased engagement in local democracy.

"Newly successful elected members can sometimes get a bit of a shock when they are confronted with the reality of how things work and what's involved," Mr Cameron said.

"Council doesn't want to deter anyone from standing for election but we do want our successful candidates to be as best prepared as possible for the role they have been elected for.

"There's no doubt that newly elected members face a steep learning curve. However, anyone who attended one of the workshops will now be going into the election with their eyes wide open as to what the requirements and expectations of being an elected member are."

Council wants to help successful candidates become effective as quickly as possible and help them not feel overwhelmed by council processed and new information, he said.

"As well as hearing from council staff, the new potential candidates were able to hear directly from existing elected members about their own personal experience."

Candidate nominations open on July 15.

Head to www.ruapehudc.govt.nz for more information of standing as a candidate or enrolling and voting.