July 21, 2022
Māori ward campaigner eyes mayoral korowai
A second Māori has entered the race to be Ruapehu’s next mayor.
Fiona Kahukura Hadley-Chase campaigned for Māori wards at the council and at Horizons Regional Council, and she’s now standing for both the mayoralty and the Māori ward.
She’s up against current councillor Elija Pue, deputy mayor Adie Doyle and former mayor Weston Kirton, who’s currently on the Horizons council.
She says the campaign for Māori wards made many Māori voters aware of the importance of councils in their lives, and not it’s time to turn that awareness into votes across the board.
“All over the motu, there is going to be 50 Maori wards so 50 new Māori councillors by the end of the year so it’s a new process for all of us but it’s one I think that’s a good step for us to be able to make some genuine, authentic transformational change for the better of Māori and our nation,” Ms Kahukura Hadley-Chase says.
As mayor, she would aim to build a resilient community and better lives for the people in the region.