"And democracy's not something all countries have the privilege of practicing."
Outside office hours Aroha was, and remains, a Maori Party stalwart. For the past three years she's been its local branch secretary.
"I certainly wasn't a rabid political animal previously, didn't know Te Ururoa until I got that job, it was a huge learning curve, but what it's taught me is to become more outspoken, more radical, you have to be when you're confronted with the injustices the people at the bottom of the heap face, the ones who're really suffering."
Such heartfelt claims demands an explanation of what exactly an electorate agent's job entails.
Aroha's definition is that an MP's office is the equivalent of a Citizens Advice Bureau "but more so".
"If you went to Te Ururoa's office with your problems you got a holistic, wrap-around service, as Maori that was our point of difference, you did the whole thing for them, not just point them in the right direction, you solve things Because we [the Maori Party] were in government we got some amazing outcomes for whanau."
Commitment to whanau rotates Aroha's axis; hers is her most precious taonga.
Married at 17, her elder son, Eraia Kiel (Our People, May 26, 2017), was born before her 18th birthday, second son Beau arrived four years later, daughter Layla 10 years after that. They've given her eight mokopuna.
Aroha's convinced her commitment to whanau stems from her only child status.
"That's very rare in Maoridom but it balanced out, I belong to a huge, extended whanau, have hundreds of cousins, we're all incredibly close, look out for each other, know how much families matter."
Having her first child so young didn't keep Aroha out of the workforce; her recent job loss is this multi-skilled woman's first taste of unemployment.
She went straight from McKillop College to the post office, becoming a manager's shorthand typist, returning when her son was 5 months old.
"We were living with his nanny and koro, Ri and Ken MacFarlane, they took care of him so I could help save for our first home."
That was in Ngongotaha and bought before Aroha was 21.
To keep family life local she became Ngongotaha school secretary.
Shortly before her daughter turned 5 she swapped the security of school for what could have been a far more daunting role, ward clerk at Rotorua Hospital's psychiatric unit.
"I learnt so much there, not just from the psychiatrists and staff but the patients too, they were comfortable around me, I guess that's because they were mostly Maori."
A perpetual challenge-seeker, seven years on Aroha transitioned into the role of community health promoter for Te Kahui Haouroa Trust, based on Koutu's
Tumahaurangi marae.
When the trust's contract ended Aroha moved to the police, working in the firearms office.
"I knew absolutely nothing about guns, the firearms officer, Mike Keefe, (Our People, May 10, 2010 ) was amazing, he taught me so much but I still can't fire a gun."
The firearms office wasn't Aroha's sole base, she moved around the departments - lost property, youth aid, watch house shift duties, typing in the CIB and assisting in the Bay of Plenty police headquarters.
"I loved it all but it was another contract that came to an end, they were building the new station, I guess they needed money for that."
Once again she was snapped up, this time by Te Utuhina Manaakitanga Trust drug and alcohol resource centre.
"I was PA to the general manager, it was great, I felt as if I was really extending myself then I saw the electorate agent's job advertised at the time my interest in the Maori Party was stirring.
"I'd dropped my CV off there five years earlier, at my interview they pulled it out. Once more I was going into something I knew nothing about, there was no training, you just had to have life skills, I guess you could say I've became an unqualified social worker."
With such an impressive resume will the suddenly out-of-work Aroha be content to remain jobless?
Not if she has her way, but in one of life's quirks of fate shortly before the election campaign she'd launched into a project, as she calls it, that's keeping her occupied while jobless.
It's turning the house she's bought next to her own into a Maori and Pacifica themed "rent-a-whare".
In buying it Aroha had to out-fox big budget Asian-based developers whose sights were trained on this prime piece of real estate bordering Kuirau Park.
"I could see another Bennetts Rd situation developing [the failed bid by off-shore investors to build a hotel in a residential area].
"There was no way I could outbid them, they badly wanted it, but I'm really proud I managed to convince the Maori owners it should stay in Maori hands.
"If it hadn't been for my political experience I'd never have had the guts to do that, working in politics has taught me so much, given me courage, the voice I previously lacked."
AROHA BRAY
Born: Rotorua, 1960. "A hippy child."
Education: St Michael's Primary, McKillop College.
Family: Partner of 10 years Chris Corbett; two sons, one daughter, eight mokopuna. Parents Jimmy and Haeata Bray. 'Dad's called the mayor of Tarewa Rd."
Interests: Whanau, secretary Lake Tavern social club, "growing membership from zero to 125." Karaoke. "Something else politics gave me the courage to do." The Maori Party. Working on her rent- a-whare.
On the Maori Party's future: "It's gong to be resuscitated, revived, refreshed, we're going to make a great come-back."
On Rotorua: "Everything Maori is right here."
Personal philosophy: "Live every moment, laugh every day, love beyond words."