Kia ora,
It's Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori language week) and I'm proud that my website has been translated into Te Reo Māori (as well as Traditional and Simplified Chinese) for the last few years. Making sure that information is available to everyone is important to lifting our voting engagement.
The nation woke to the sad news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Auckland is marking the passing of the Queen in a number of ways, including allowing the public to sign books of condolence - see here for more details.
It's been a busy month in the community - I helped organise the Daffodil Day collection in Botany, supported local crime prevention efforts, contributed to the East Auckland Tourism AGM, attended the Howick Sports Awards, the neighbourhood day at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple and the local Moon Festival Celebration in Sir Barry Curtis Park.
As part of the campaign, I attended meetings with local ethnic groups including the Bhartiya Samaj Seniors group and Korean Positive Aging charitable trusts.
You may have seen the sharp opinion piece in the NZ Herald this week by Simon Wilson, noting the importance of having good councillors who can work with others to get things done. It's clear that we need change and I firmly believe that my skills in business improvement, combined with my governance experience and passion for my community is what is needed to move our city forward.
Please make sure you vote this election and encourage others to vote too. There's plenty of information out there on who the candidates are and what they're standing for - check out policy.nz or Vote Auckland. If you or someone you know wants to talk to a candidate, feel free to pass on my details - I'm always available to chat 022 543 7601 or email me damian@damianlight.co.nz
I'll do my best to keep you up to date through my monthly newsletters. In between, stay up to date via my website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. As always, if there's something you want to hear about or know more, let me know.
Warm regards,
Damian Light
Come and Meet your Candidates!
This will probably be your only opportunity to hear from your local candidates so do do come along!
Saturday 17 Sept 3-5pm
Howick Bowling Club, 33 Selwyn Road, Cockle Bay
RSVP to info@theclick.co.nz
Voting in the election
Council elections are done via post - sometime between 16 and 21 September you should receive your voting papers in your mailbox. If they don't arrive, call the Electoral Office on 0800 922 822.
In the Howick Ward, we will be asked to vote for:
Mayor (one position so one vote)
Councillor (two positions so two votes)
Local Board (three positions so three votes)
Howick Local Board is split into three sub-divisions (Howick, Pakuranga and Botany) so depending where you live, you'll have different candidates to choose from. We all get the same candidates for Mayor and Councillor. If you're not sure who you can vote for - go to the Auckland Council website and enter your address to see the list of candidates in your area.
Once you've voted, you can return your papers by
Post using any New Zealand Post box before Monday 3 October 2022
Drop Off at any Library or Countdown before midday Saturday 8 October 2022
Check out this guide on the Auckland Council website for more information.
