Age comes into play at Stratford meeting
The future of Stratford, and if councillors would live long enough to see it, was a recurring topic at this week’s central Taranaki meet the candidates evening.
Twenty of the 21 mayoral, urban and rural ward Stratford District Council candidates shared their opinions to a crowd of more than 160 at the Stratford War Memorial Hall on Wednesday.
Candidates, only five of whom are women, expressed their desire for the community to grow and succeed, alongside other topics, and jokes flowed about the older age of some of those standing for the 11 seats.
Restanding urban councillor Peter Dalziel said the district had grown by three per cent in recent years, which was an extra 300 people.
He said the growth was ‘‘fantastic’’ and hoped the town would continue to prosper.
Fellow urban councillor of 24 years, John Sandford said there was a need for the community to grow, but not him personally. ‘‘My son tells me I’m a wrinkly now,’’ Sanford joked.
Urban candidate Mathew Watt said he was a ratepayer and house owner just like most in the crowd, even though he was only 23.
Watt said he cared about the future of Stratford and still had ‘‘60-80 years left living’’ there, unlike the candidates alongside him who may not even have 20.
Fellow candidate Min McKay also had youth on her side, and said she was passionate about seeing Stratford ‘‘vibrant’’.
Mayoral and urban candidate Rawinia Henderson said she wanted to see more done for health care in the town, including mental health.
Urban councillor Gloria Webby, who got up and asked the crowd if they liked to party, called Stratford a paradise.
She said one of her goals was to see the town progress.
‘‘By the way, age is a state of mind,’’ she added.
Another topic discussed was the transparency of council.
Urban candidate Tony Milham, who has run for mayor and council in the past, said he believed council workshops, which are closed to the public and media, needed to be stopped.
Milham said he wanted more conversations to happen publicly, ‘‘not behind closed doors’’.
However, Sandford said he found workshops a ‘‘most valuable’’ part of making good decisions for the rate payer.
Mayor Neil Volzke explained no decisions are made in the workshops; they are simply an opportunity for councillors to ask questions and have discussions.
Volzke was also asked if he thought he was ‘‘stale, pale male’’.
He said he’d been a male all his life but was still committed to three more years and certainly wasn’t stale, just yet.