The People’s Choice is the left-leaning political grouping, organised locally for local people. It is not the specifically aligned to the Labour Party, but includes candidates who are members of the Labour Party (and other left-aligned political parties).
I chose to run under the People’s Choice banner for a number of reasons:
- The People’s Choice policies align with my own views on how Council should engage with community, youth, iwi; and its approach to housing, transport, and the environment
- Having the support of a collective has been invaluable to me as an aspiring politician – I have had amazing encouragement and mentoring from my team. I am not sure how I would have navigated the whole process without my buddies there to help me along the way – particularly my running mates Glenn Livingstone (current Burwood Councillor) and Greg Sugrue (newbie candidate for Burwood like me)
- I went through a rigorous selection process for People’s Choice, as did my fellow candidates – we were put through our paces, and as a result we have a group of high-quality candidates who know their stuff, and know how to engage with their communities
- I am a member of the Labour Party, and I want to be really clear about that as a candidate – Labour’s values are my values
As the campaign has progressed, my opponents have specifically called out that they are “independent” and I am not, which in their minds makes them better candidates. But let’s work through the logic of that argument.
My politics are clear – you can go to the People’s Choice website and see what my policies on the various important local issues are. This doesn’t mean that I would blindly follow these policies without consideration for what is best for my Ward. They are a framework of principles that I can use to make good decisions, not a prescriptive list of “musts” to be rigidly adhered to.
The other argument I’ve heard from my opponents is that “politics should be kept out of the Community Board”. This baffles me. I am standing for political office, via an election. This is the definition of politics. I can only assume that what my opponents really mean is that central and local government politics should be kept separate. But the reality is that most candidates are aligned to a political party – we all vote in central government elections (I assume so anyway!). And I also know that some are members of other political parties. I just chose to be more upfront about my politics.
What surprises me the most is that my opponents have spent as much time complaining about the People’s Choice as they have explaining their own policies. To my opponents running for Community Board I say – read the People’s Choice policies and tell me (and your community) which of these you disagree with and why. Then we can talk.
The Secret Life of Bebe 