Richard Hills Ward: North Shore

Road to City Hall

The son of parents who married on Takapuna Beach and raised a family in Glenfield, Hills got involved in youthrelated issues after attending Auckland University of Technology. He was shouldertapped by former Labour MP and Auckland councillor Ann Hartley and elected to the Kaipatiki Local Board in 2010. When George Wood stood down from council, he put in a last-minute nomination and worked with sitting councillor Chris Darby. The pair got elected to the two North Shore seats, Hills by just 128 votes.

Maiden speech

The 30-year-old focused on people and the community, and couched issues in terms of people. Public transport was not about buses or trains, he said, but people and how they got to work and around the city. Growth was people moving to the city, like his mum, a daughter of immigrants who arrived by ship in the 1950s for a better life. He called on the council to embrace and include people from different cultures, backgrounds and sexualities and gender identities.

Top quote

“By becoming more peoplefocused, our community might feel more positive about us. We need to talk about people more.”

Hopes and aspirations

Improved engagement and connection with people is central to his thinking. Investing in areas that make people feel good about their town centres, parks, community connections and feel safe. Youth engagement is important. So too, better public transport — SkyPath and other safe cycling and walking connections — addressing climate change, the housing crisis and homelessness. He is still finding the line between being a local board member and a councillor.

Five things I love about Auckland

1. The people. You can go anywhere in the world and For video interviews with the new councillors, visit nzherald.co.nz come back to New Zealand and it feels as if we are the friendliest, most likely to help each other out. 2. The environment. Especially on the North Shore, the beaches and native bush are so accessible. 3. The weather. It’s pretty good

Hin the summer and we are pretty blessed to live here. 4. Events and cultural diversity. You can go to the museum, the art gallery, you can visit marae pretty easily. 5. Parks and reserves. We have a richness of assets that are generally free to everyone.