August 13, 2013
Reading no bar for council contender
A Gisborne man says not being able to read or write won’t stop him doing the job if he is elected to the district council.
Kaiti resident Hemara Donnelly says a bout of meningitis in childhood affected his learning, but he gained strength from the ways he found around his disability.
He’s got people lined up to take notes and read council papers to him if he wins a seat in October.
Mr Donnelly got a taste for the council work when he campaigned to get speed bumps installed in his street, and he has become known as a community voice.
"I'm actually an advocate for people on WINZ, police, justice, you name it. If I lose when I’m in there, I’ll find the background to come back on it. I don’t just walk away from something when I'm told the answer is no. I look to see the word no is put in place for the right reasons, not because somebody in a high place opens their mouth," he says.
Mr Donnelly needs to win over 4000 votes to become one of nine Gisborne city ward councillors.
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