Viewpoint – Election whirlwind

It certainly has been a bit of a whirlwind with the not only the local board campaign but also the Auckland Mayoralty campaign.

Although I was disappointed with coming 5th out of 22 candidates for the Mayoralty race I was very satisfied with what I had learnt on the journey and it was definitely an eye opener to get an understanding of the process of how to work your way up the rankings.

In the local board elections, I must admit I was humbled to receive the highest votes of 10,405 and certainly will ensure that I work as hard as I can for our area as chairman of the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board. In this new term of Council I hope to see some more projects get closer to the completion stage. 

The completion of the Ōrewa Boulevard extension is not far away and I believe is going to be a real asset to the Hibiscus Coast and also all the thousands of visitors who enjoy our facilities in the summer months. 

It’ll be great when Penlink has its ground broken to start that project and I know that the local board will be pushing for a new bus terminal at the Whangaparāoa end of Penlink for ease of travelling on the buses. 

It’s great to see so many family events being planned for the Hibiscus Coast area, which I’m sure will be enjoyed by our community. It certainly has been a tough couple of years but with these event taking place (mostly free), let’s hope it puts a smile on everyone’s face and brings our community back together again. 

On a personal note, I have more performances confirmed for the next few months so it will be a thrill to be back up on stage entertaining and hopefully making people forget about their worries for a few hours.

I also want to publicly thank my family, and especially my wife Tracey, for putting up with all my campaigning over the past six months – it truly was quite a stressful time but I believe well worth it.

With this being my last viewpoint for 2022, I want to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Christmas and summer break. 

Hope to see you again in the New Year and be able to help you with your concerns in 2023.