She had been assisting with the monthly council information table in Marton over the past few years which was a good way to hear the concerns of the community.
Mrs Bates, who is also president of the Marton Arts and Crafts Centre, said there were a lot of services offered by council which the public would not know about or would find it hard to get information on.
"I see the that website could be improved majorly. It's got a long way to go when I look at other websites, particularly council websites."
In Taihape, Etain McDonnell is the only newbie vying for the three-seat ward.
She said Taihape was a great place to raise a family but the district needed things for young people to do.
Council needed to find new ways to fund youth services.
"I think there's always room to explore different means of getting funding," she said.
"If you bang your head against one door and it doesn't open that doesn't mean stop. I'm a great believer in if the pie doesn't cut into enough slices, bake another pie."
Mrs McDonnell said the council also needed to help people who are trying to be innovative because work was hard to come by.
"Taihape is a great place to raise kids. I think we have great offerings. There aren't a lot of jobs available and people have to work hard to either do jobs that a lot people don't want to do or find their own employment or create their own work."
