October 01, 2013
Teacher endorsed for local board run
A west Auckland local government candidate says it’s a great chance to get a Maori voice heard – but that means motivating voters who don’t usually bother.
Will Flavell is the head of Maori studies at Rutherford College, and he’s standing on the Labour Party ticket for the Henderson Massey local board.
He’s been door knocking for the past six months, trying to reach the fifth of voters who are Maori and the 40 percent who are under 24 – two groups who failed to participate in the last election.
Mr Flavell has been endorsed by the Maori community in Te Atatu.
"They realise this is an opportunity to finally have a Maori on the local board because if you look at the current Henderson-Massey board, there are no Maori, there are no Pasifika, and there is no one under the age of 45. I’m under 30, I’m Maori and I’m educated and that’s my point of difference in ensuring there is a Maori voice on our local board," he says.
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