Lester backs candidates
Justin Lester has confirmed he is standing for the Wellington mayoralty only, and has endorsed three Northern ward candidates for the upcoming elections.
‘‘My aim is to be successful with the mayoral campaign in October,’’ he said. ‘‘I believe that a role as a councillor should not be a lifetime career and introducing new candidates with a strong standing in the community is healthy.’’
Lester has officially endorsed three candidates in the north – Peter Gilberd, Jill Day and incumbent Malcolm Sparrow.
‘‘All have strong community connections, will bring a new lease on life around the council table and will do a good job.’’
Lester was confident of good support from Tawa and the rest of the Northern ward in his bid for the mayoralty.
‘‘The last six years serving [this ward] have been the most fulfilling of my career. When I first ran I said I wanted to improve local facilities and infrastructure and help give each local suburb a stronger heart.’’
Lester said he had helped secure $40 million of investment for the northern suburbs.
In particular in Tawa, he had advocated for upgrading the surface at Redwood Park, improvements at Tawa Pool, securing funding for the hanging baskets on Main Rd and working with residents over the Spicer Landfill smell.