Henderson’s future in the west
After six 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 Henderson-Massey Local Board (9462) and now says the public support received has given him the confidence to ‘‘really push for change’’ this term.
‘‘I have lived in west Auckland my whole life and got into local politics to be a part of the solution. I am so grateful to have been afforded this opportunity,’’ Henderson says.
On the morning of the results, Henderson says he was so anxious he made himself turn off his phone and go for a hike through the Waitakeres, something he does a lot of when he gets a spare moment. He returned to ‘‘about 15 missed calls and dozens of text messages’’.
‘‘I thought this is either really good news or really bad, it could go either way here,’’ he says.
‘‘When I eventually did see the results I was just ecstatic. We have our fair share of issues in the Henderson-Massey area that need to be dealt with so I can’t wait to get stuck into them.’’
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. 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,’’ he says.
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 underinvestment’’.
‘‘Our centres are lacking character and Henderson is a prime example,’’ he says.
‘‘We have Unitec right there which is fantastic, the mall, the train station I mean everything is there but it is just not strategically utilised. We can make a big difference through direct actions, including funding safety initiatives and making it easier to walk and cycle to our centres.’’
The board will vote to elect their chairman in the coming weeks.