Media Release: Raglan Residents & Ratepayers Association, 27.04.2015
On Sunday 3 May 2pm at the Raglan Town Hall there will be an opportunity to Meet the Candidates standing in the Community Board by-election. The voting papers should arrive in our letter boxes this week and we have till Friday 5 June to get them back to the council. Raglan Residents & Ratepayers Association has organised the meeting to give the five candidates for the two Community Board seats a platform to tell us about themselves, the issues and why we should vote for them.
Interest in local elections has been declining, with only 6 candidates for the 6 seats on the Board in 2013, so there was no voting then. In 2001 51.9% of Raglan electors took part in choosing our councillor. By 2013 that was down to 33%. Now 5 candidates are standing for the 2 seats and 3 of them are much younger than most recent Board members.
Raglan Naturally said the Community Board should be proactive. There are many issues it could be proactive about. Many parts of Raglan Naturally haven’t been implemented. For example, a heated swimming pool has been a possibility ever since fundraising for a Coronation Pool started in 1911, yet still seems no nearer completion. The PlaceMaking initiative could be revived. Rates are set to rise above inflation. Water metering will add further costs.
So far none of the candidates has done much campaigning. Sunday 3rd will be an opportunity for them to test how their messages are received. Sunday will be a chance for us to hear if things will stay much the same, or whether there are any ideas or people who might change things. It will also be a chance to ask about the issues of concern to us. Be there!
In regard to being proactive, I’d like to know the candidates views on fixing the pedestrian trip hazards on footpaths around the CBD. Also what about the decorative lights in Bow St? As RCB put these up, it needs to take the intiative and either maintain them or take them down. What about WW1 commemoration? Hunty and Ngaruawahia Community Boards paid for banners to go on lamp posts in their main streets. Will the new candidates be organising this for Bow St?
Kia ora Rodger, regarding your questions above, I think whoever is elected would need to have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the processes of the Community Board and council. I would think that trip hazards on our footpaths would be one that all would be concerned with, especially given the fact that one local has already suffered an injury from falling. And I agree, if the decorative lights were part of an initiative by the RCB, then it should be the responsibility of the board to make a decision on what there long term use would be. Regarding commemorative banners for WW1, it would be great to be in discussion with our community and the RAS to see what we can do as a community next year to decorate our main street – perhaps we could encourage our senior students at Raglan Area to create our own Raglan style banners, in recognition of people from here, the possibilities are limitless. Furthermore, as John Lawson has pointed out, some of us believe it would be of benefit for each community board representative to have a specific portfolio to deal with and to be the contact person for our community and council. Kind regards, Lisa Thomson standing community board candidate.
The ballot papers won’t be this week (as above), but from Thursday 14 May. This week was the original timetable (still on the WDC website), but the revised timetable is at http://waidc.govt.nz/Documents-Library/Files/Your-Council/Elections/Raglan-CB-by-election/WaiDC-RaglanCB-ByElection-Timetable-May2015-EXTEND.aspx.
Some candidates have talked of giving each Board member responsibility for a particular issue or area. That could help solve the problem of footpaths, etc not being repaired.