Revitalising Henderson

After sixth months of hard campaigning, Shane Henderson, 29, is ready to tackle the hard issues out west.

He finished with the highest number of votes for the HendersonMassey Local Board (9,462) and now says the public support received has given him the confidence to ‘‘really push for change’’ this term.

A law graduate, Henderson landed his first job out of law school in 2010, giving free legal advice to members of the community.

It was there that the 29-year-old says he first identified the need for change out west.

‘‘I just started to get really frustrated with the same cases coming in and the same people struggling,’’ he says.

‘‘Anything that were symptoms of poverty, I was seeing daily - so people losing their jobs, family break-ups, debt issues that sort of thing. It sucks and as I said, I want to be part of the solution.’’

Among the issues on Henderson’s radar are the town centres in both Henderson and Massey that he says have suffered from ‘‘a bit of neglect and under-investment’’.

He says that in order for people to have a sense of pride in their local hub, they need to become somewhere people can live, work and play, identifying the need for more modern infrastructure.

The board will vote to elect their chairman in the coming weeks.