brought to you by the letters C & R!

This week I was delighted to be confirmed as a candidate for the Citizens and Ratepayers ticket (C & R) for the Local Board of Waitakere Ranges:

c-r.org.nz/candidates.html

Looking forward to working with my C & R colleagues for the best possible results for the west.

spreading the good words

Today I had an excellent suggestion passed to me by a friend of mine, who happens to be a proud fellow Westie. She reckons that when Auckland becomes a single city we should be able to share library resources with a single card.

Although many live in Waitakere but work or generally hang out elsewhere within Auckland, at the moment Westies can only access freely books and other library resources from the Waitakere Libraries, and not Auckland City Libraries. The reverse is of course true.

My friend's suggestion that we move towards a single libraries card is an excellent one in itself I think. It also raises a more general question about what other services we can make more freely available for the good people of Auckland.

out and about

Well, I've had a great weekend so far out here in the West.

Yesterday morning I was at Parrs Park and met with local parents doing the Saturday morning thing ... taking the kids to swimming lessons, watching their soccer games etc.

I also spent some time talking with residents at a home for elderly folks, which was fun as well. Regardless of their politics, people are generally very friendly and engaged, I'm finding, which is a positive sign for local democracy.

Today I'll do a quick tour of some of the local churches and (if I get time!) any markets going and see how the good folk of West Auckland are spending their Sunday morning.

In summary, then, even at this early stage it's been a real pleasure meeting those other members of the local community I've not had much to do with lately ... an unexpected bonus of hitting the campaign trail!