Former Manawatu mayor Audrey Severinsen, 59, who died at her home after a battle with cancer, was a success because of her ability to make progress through consensus.
Severinsen entered local government in 1974, when elected a Wellington city councillor. She served two terms. She was elected in Manawatu as a Pohangina ward councillor in 1989, when the district formed, and was re-elected in every subsequent election.
She made her first bid for the mayoralty in the 1995-98 term, but lost narrowly to Rob Moodie, for whom she was deputy mayor. She became mayor in 1998.
Her calm, competent approach - listen, take notes, take the opinions back to the council and use them in decision-making - was the cornerstone of her mayoralty.
<i>Obituary:</i> Audrey Severinsen
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