7.00PM: One of the freshly-elected Auckland Councillors is promising minority voices will not be drowned out by the roar of the super city. A centre-left leaning council has been voted in under Len Brown, who has swept to an easy victory over John Banks. Right-leaning Citizen New Zealand's gay population. Cathy Casey City Vision's Cathy Casey has landed a seat in the Albert-Eden-Roskill ward. As an Auckland City Councillor for the past six years she has been unafraid to go into bat for the minority and stand up to the majority, something she is pledging to continue in the now vastly more powerful council. Casey says her biggest fear was that minority views would be sidelined in the Super City, had voters gone for a right-leaning council, a fear which was shared by community members she spoke to throughout her campaign. She says election of a centre-left council makes her hopeful that won't happen. "As part of the last Auckland City centre-left majority, which was the last term of council, we had a whole Partnerships Committee where we opened up new partnerships with the gay community, with the Asian networks, with people with disabilities, because we did feel that Banks had shut them out. We wanted them back in again," she tells GayNZ.com Daily News. "So I'm looking forward to seeing what mechanisms this new council can use to bring them back, should any of those people feel alienated from the council." She says making sure people are heard is the reason she stood for the council. "I do listen. I do want to represent people. So I'm there, I'll be full-time, I'll be listening and I think this is a great chance in Auckland's history. I really do, I think it's magnificent. I'm looking forward to what we can do to make things better and make people feel included." Casey says she will attend the meetings of local boards in her area. She believes the communication channels between the boards and council need to be wide open - and the community boards need to be funded and not cash-strapped. "The Government left a few things open. And it's up to the council now to make sure that as much delegation as possible can go to the local boards to make sure that they can make good local decisions." Casey has paid tribute to Bruce Kilmister, who has missed out on a place on the Waitemata Local Board after nine years in local body politics. "I was very disappointed that Bruce Kilmister didn't get back on the local board there, as a stalwart of the gay community. He's worked flat out all the time I've known him and I'm very sad he didn't get back on today," she says. "There's always casualties in an election, but he's one. He's been a Trojan." Auckland Council: Rodney: Penny Webster Albany: Michael Goudie, Wayne Walker North Shore: Ann Hartley, George Wood (C his sexuality." Lawson says she wishes Johnson "all the best luck" in his new local politics role. Of Bob Parker's return to the mayoralty, Lawson admits to being one of his supporters "and I'm very glad he has been returned. I like the way things have happened in our city under him, he has walked the talk." Parker, she notes, has been present as a guest and speaker at several GLBT Business Association of Christchurch meetings and gatherings. "He seems supportive of glbt people and easy in our company... he's mixed in with us." Longtime Wigram MP Jim Anderton, one of the country's most glbt-friendly politicians, lost the Christchurch mayoralty race but race but Lawson isn't too preturbed by that. "I wasn't ever sure what he was planning to do for the city" she says. You can discuss this New Zealand glbt community news story in our GayNZ.com Forum ******** 3.30PM: Re-elected gay local board member Chris Dempsey is playing down his success in the Auckland election, merely saying that he is "quite pleased" to be on the Waitemata local board which represents a huge swathe of the inner-city. Christopher Dempsey "I'm disappointed that Bruce Kilmister didn't get in because we've lost so may years of experience there," he says of his fellow gay candidate for the board. "But I'll try to pick up from where Bruce left off." Dempsey is also disappointed that Claudette Hauiti, a lesbian Citizens and Ratepayers candidate for the Eden Albert board has also been unsuccessful. Dempsey believes the election of new Auckland mayor Len Brown is "quite significant... he is more inclusive than John Banks, and much more glbt-progressive, despite his religious background." You can discuss this New Zealand glbt community news story in our GayNZ.com Forum ******** 3.15pm: One of Auckland's two GLBT local board representatives believes Len Brown will be a community-focused and inclusive mayor. Incumbent Simon Randall has been voted onto the Maungakiekie Subdivision of the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board, pulling in more votes than any other candidate. The Masters student and passionate local body politician says it's a great relief. "It's very easy as a candidate to think that you're in a bit of a bubble and your friends are telling you what you want to hear. So it's nice to have a result." Because he is in a subdivision it means he and the other three members will have to work with another ticket, so the first job will be to sit down and talk and attempt to sort out some joint priorities. "it's one of those sorts of jobs where you write your own job description, but I think that's an exciting opportunity." Randall believes Brown being voted mayor is fantastic. "I mean Len's focused on the community as a whole and I think his track record shows that. I'm certainly very excited to be able to work with him." When asked whether he thinks the new mayor will be inclusive, Randall says "I think he certainly will from what I've seen." He believes it will be interesting to see how the new council members work together, "it's a good mix of talent and experience and some people with my sorts of values. So it's very exciting. Particularly in my local area with Richard Northey, he's a good guy."You can discuss this New Zealand glbt community news story in our GayNZ.com Forum ******** 2.30PM: Nine-year Auckland community board member Bruce Kilmister is disappointed that he has not been elected onto the enlarged super city local board but believes Len Brown will be a good mayor for the city's glbt residents. Bruce Kilmister "I'm naturally disappointed to miss out," says Kilmister, who has used his membership of community boards over the year to nurture and support glbt initiatives. The longtime left-wing City Vision politician notes that the party has "an 80% majority on the Waitemata local board" which covers such glbt-heavy suburbs as Herne Bay, Grey Lynn and Ponsonby, "and that will be a good thing." Of Len Brown's win as the super city's first mayor. Kilmister is enthusiastic. "I'm ecstatic that Len is the mayor," he says. "This is fantastic for Auckland." He is sure Brown will be a better leader for all the city's glbt people. "He'll be way better than John Banks could ever be... John would say what he thought you wanted to hear and mean none of it, Len Brown is a man we can trust and he will do things for us." ******** 2.45PM: The Gay Auckland Business Association has offered its congratulations to Len Brown on his victory in the Auckland mayoralty, saying it's likely to be a popular result among its membership. "Len addressed GABA recently and impressed with his consistency on issues that are of importance both personally and professionally," says GABA President Glenn Sims. "We look forward to working with him in the coming years. We would however, and in spite of trumping John Banks in the fashion stakes on the cover of Metro, urge Mayor Brown to stick to what he's good at and leave drag to the professionals in future. "We'd also like to send our best wishes and congratulations to all of the other successful LGBT candidates standing in local elections across New Zealand." You can discuss this New Zealand glbt community news story in our GayNZ.com Forum GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 9th October 2010
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 9th October 2010 - 2:46pm