COMMENT This week I did something roughly 25,000 people in Rotorua and more in Tauranga chose not to do the last time they could.
On Monday morning before work, I walked into the council building and put my orange envelope in a black box. It's not hard to miss. It says"vote here" right above it.
I voted and I made sure my partner did too.
Our conversation went a little like this: "Let's sit down and vote," "I'll do it later," "But you WILL do it, won't you?" I was forceful.
In my view, only those who vote have any right to complain about what is happening.
If the roads have potholes, footpaths are cracked or non-existent, or you don't like where rates are being spent, the biggest way you can make a change is to vote.
Do your research on who is promising to do what. It's not hard. The Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post have profiled candidates and where they stand on issues and there is more to come.
In 2016 the voter return in Rotorua was 45.99 per cent. That was 21,252 votes, excluding special votes.
Voting in Tauranga was similarly low. For the Tauranga City Council election in 2016, just 34,503 or 38.07 per cent of eligible voters had their say.
It blows my mind that more people did not vote than did.
Have your say on who enters the council chambers.
As at the end of last week, voting return for Tauranga City Council elections was at 1.86 per cent. For the Rotorua Lakes Council, it was 2.72 per cent.
At the same point in 2016, the return was 5.80 per cent in Tauranga and 8.58 per cent in Rotorua, so we've got some catching up to do.
If you pay rates - which is pretty much everyone that rents or owns a house - you should probably educate yourself before you vote.
If you don't vote, you can't complain.
After all, how can a council represent its people if its people do not vote?
