The race for the Gisborne mayoralty is heating up, with long-serving mayor, Meng Foon, deciding to stand-down.
Two women seem to be the frontrunners, so it's likely that Gisborne will get its first female mayor this October. Current deputy mayor, Rehette Stoltz, wants the job.
"Obviously it will be an honour to be the first woman and inspire young women, hey we can do everything," she said. "But at the end of the day, I want our community to choose the best person for the job."
Stoltz was elected a councillor in 2010 and then served two terms as deputy mayor alongside Foon.
"I take my hat off to Meng, I've learned a lot from him. I started my own Te Ao Māori journey maybe six years ago, I joined a waiata group, learning beautiful waiata and through that learning process I have developed a desire to learn the meaning behind those words, those customs."
In this interview with Local Focus she talks further about the issues facing Gisborne.
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