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Outgoing Papakura Manurewa Local Board chair Angela Dalton says forging direct connections with mana whenua has been a highlight of her time on the board.
She's going for a seat on the main Auckland Council, but says she won't forget what she learned.
That included giving communities a say on what facilities should be built in their areas and how, even if it didn't always please council bureaucrats.
She says it all comes down to relationships with communities, other board members, council controlled organisations like Auckland Transport and Panuku, and with mana whenua.
"Consultation with mana whenua means going up through council and back down again. Our local iwi said we just want to work directly with the local boards, we just want to pick up the phone and say ‘what do you think about this?’ and I have been able to do that quite a number of times so maintaining that so when there is something at council, I can pick up the phone and not just have to rely on advice coming back through council officers because I know how that goes," Ms Dalton says.
She expects turnout in the ward could be lower than 27 percent, with many voters struggling over who to choose for mayor.
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