Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis says successfully campaigning for a toll-free Turanga-Manawatū Tararua Highway is her proudest accomplishment.
Outgoing Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis is proud of what she was able to achieve in three terms leading the district.
First elected as a councillor in 2013, she became mayor in 2016 and has led the district through the Covid-19 pandemic, Cyclone Gabrielle and the opening of Te Ahu a Turanga-Manawatū Tararua Highway.
“It’s always taking the community with you on that journey,” Collis told Hawke’s Bay Today when reflecting on her role.
Her time came to an end over the weekend as Scott Gilmore was elected to the role, based on preliminary results.
They placed Gilmore on 2828 votes to Collis’s 2365.
Collis said she was feeling good about her future and her achievements as a leader.
“It’s been my privilege to serve as mayor, but I will be out and about and still see everybody.
“You put yourself forward and people have chosen change, that’s all part of life.”
Collis said when she joined local government, her goal was to always look at the unintended consequences of policy and what it meant for the Tararua District.
“When I first came into local government, I had very much been in the farming community.
“My roles had always been rural-related, so it was the first time around the council table, but I absolutely loved being part of the decisions.
“Look at earthquake-prone buildings, we finally got that change, but we had been lobbying for that really over two Governments, so it’s great to see that change come to fruition.”
Despite having nine years of hard work under her belt as mayor, Collis said her proudest achievement was opening the toll-free $824 million Te Ahu a Turanga-Manawatū Tararua Highway to motorists in June.
“Seeing that opened and seeing how it is being used by so many and enjoyed and the recreational opportunities, it’s just making an incredible difference to people’s lives.”
Collis said she was yet to walk and cycle it, but so far had driven it 59 times.
She said she worked hard to maintain a healthy professional and personal life balance, but said a key skill was being able to pivot when needed.
“You need to allow yourself time for all those agendas, all those bits. You have got to have really good time management to fit all that in ... anything can happen within our community.”
She said that as a woman in leadership, there were extra considerations she had to learn to manage in her daily life, along with the rise of social media and misinformation.
“As a leader, you thought about where you are going, who was there, what your exit was ... I would always choose to meet people in a public place.”
“You are always balancing information, decisions and costs – and you see that in other people’s lives.”
Collis said a big part of her public life was to keep her private life with her children and husband out of the spotlight.
“I made a conscious decision at the outset that my family didn’t choose this, so you won’t see my family on social media and that’s because I’ve always had that little bit of protection for them.
“When my children were a bit younger, they loathed that during a campaign, their car would have my face on it – that wasn’t cool.”
Collis said when her youngest daughter was asked if she was proud of her mum being mayor when she was younger, her response was simple.
“She said the council stole my Mum ... and she said that on Saturday, she said the younger me would say ‘Yay, I have got my Mum back’.”
Collis said she didn’t look back on her time with any regrets, but would have liked to see increased connectivity in Tararua’s rural communities.
“I don’t see things as regrets ... We won’t always get everything we want, but we still have got to be moving in that direction.”
As for her plans now, Collis said she wanted to get into her garden and pull weeds, watch the Pike River film and take time to support a sick family member.
Collis said her parting advice for Gilmore was to place high importance on the relationships that are built and maintained in the role.
“It will be an incredibly big term, there is a lot of challenge and opportunity ahead for local government, especially in the waters.
“Every single day, everyone gets up to make the Tararua District a better place to live and it’s easy to lay blame, but those people there really care.”
Mayor – Scott Gilmore
North Ward – Steve Wallace, Erana Peeti-Webber, Sharon Wards, Alison Amboy
South Ward – Elisabeth Kennedy, Peter Johns, Peter Naylor, Chris Corlett
Tamaki-Nui-A-Rua Māori Ward – Keshaan Te Waaka
Dannevirke Community Board – Ron Wallace, Nicola Phillips, Ernie Christison, Terry Hynes
Eketāhuna Community Board – Steen McGhie, Larissa Barclay, Mel Corlett, David Smith
Vote to remove Māori ward – 3517 Vote to keep Māori ward – 2957
Final results are expected to be publicly released on Thursday October 16, once special votes have been counted.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.