Thirty-three candidates are vying for 13 Te Hirawanui general ward seats on Palmerston North City Council. Photo / Judith Lacy
These are summaries of on-camera interviews with Palmerston North City Council candidates conducted by Local Focus.
Ross Barber's favourite book is Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic and he likes music from the 60s.
He doesn't like "Palmy" or "Palmerston North". "My view is it should go to a better name."
Asked which party he would be with if he was running for Parliament, Barber says he is opposed to government so wouldn't be with a party.
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is corruption and fraud, he says. Other issues include poverty, sickness, an overrun hospital, lack of capital to create new jobs, and financial burden on the ratepayers. He opposes rates and says a competent council should be able to fund itself through industry, being progressive, and being proactive in the community.
Jacinta Fraser's favourite book is The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck while her favourite music genre is punk rock.
She prefers "Palmy" and the favourite meal she cooks for herself is macaroni cheese.
Asked which party she would be with if she was running for Parliament, Fraser replied "depending on the policies, at the moment probably National".
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is retaining staff. Housing is also an issue as a lack of rentals is driving rents up.
"There are absolutely no investors in the market at the moment so there are no more rental properties coming on the market," the property manager says.
The city probably needs another swimming pool, definitely more hockey turfs, and work done to increase the number of kids playing sport.
Fraser was born in Palmy, grew up in Tauranga, went overseas, then came back to Palmy. It's grown on her - even the wind, and she has realised it is a great place to raise her three sons.
She has a background in social work and social policy. "I know how to deal with lots and lots of reading, I'm very good at reading policy."
Dion Jensen's favourite book is The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino and his favourite music genre is either R&B or hip hop.
He prefers Palmy and the favourite meal he cooks for himself is poor man's shepherd's pie.
If he was running for Parliament he would start his own party.
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is people don't realise how the rest of the world is affecting us psycho-socially. "The country is running out of money and the 'go to school, get an education, get a job model' is dead. The employee model is dead, retail is dead, New Zealand doesn't understand what is coming."
Palmy residents need to be learning future skills, Jensen says. "I've got 15- and 16-year-olds kicked out of school that are making money online. We need to catch up with how the rest of the world makes money and how the rest of the world operates."
Jensen was born in Singapore and brought up te ao Māori. He is Samoan.
"There's no cost of living crisis. There's a people not earning enough money crisis." A tangible thing right now to save money is growing our own food.
Jensen has more serious concerns than potholes. "My main focus is stopping people killing themselves and making sure that people can eat," he says.
"If you vote for Dion Jensen to come into the city council, you bring the Lion Academy, my entire global network with me ... It's not about Dion Jensen, it's who is Dion Jensen connected to and what can all of those people bring to Palmy."
William Wood loves 70s and 80s music. For the all-important moniker question, he replied: "I go with Palmerston North but ask my grandma."
Wood stood for National in the 2020 general election and if he was running for Parliament again, National would be his choice.
The biggest issue facing Palmerston North is Three Waters as it would take away local-asset control and decision-making and likely increase costs. "We need partnership with Government, not a Three Waters asset grab that they have proposed."
The council needs to go through its budget line by line, Wood says. Examples of nice to haves are "having people in orange shirts in The Square during summertime " and the upgraded intersection outside The Plaza that most people avoid because it's so difficult to turn out of.
He would like to see end-of-trip facilities - shower, locker and a place to store your bike - to get more people cycling. "Before we build more cycleways we need to address the issue of why people aren't using them."
Wood says the council needs to fix the footpaths so those with mobility issues "can at the very least walk around our city with confidence you are not going to trip over cracks every second day".
He was born in Palmy and grew up here, both his parents own small businesses in the city, and he was a Youth MP and on the Palmerston North Youth Council. "I've flatted here, I study here, I know what the city looks like from a student's perspective."
