Candidates present 'their vision for Whangarei'

MC Damian Pullen introduces the candidates to the crowd of more than 300 at the Pecha Kucha meet the mayoral candidates event at Forum North last night. Photo / John Stone

They came, they saw, they talked and they showed their slides of their "vision for Whangarei" - Whangarei's mayoral candidates last night took part in an unusual, but interesting election campaign event, a Pecha Kucha evening.

All 12 Whangarei mayoral candidates - Stuart Bell, Glenn Chapman, Crichton Christie, Vince Cocurullo, Shelley Deeming, Sheryl Mai, Greg Martin, Isopo Samu, Stan Semenoff, Warren Slater, Warwick Syers and Graham Tadman - were invited along last night at Forum North, with only Mr Martin having to decline because of family commitments.

In typical Pecha Kucha fashion, the candidates showed 20 slides they selected, with 20 seconds to talk about each slide in a format that appeals to many who are not "traditional voters" organiser Matt Keene said.

"It's not really what Pecha Kucha is for, but the people who come along (to regular Pecha Kucha events) thought it would be a great way to see the candidates in an environment they may not be used to. The theme was "My Vision for Whangarei" and they have got free range to do whatever they want with that theme," Mr Keene said.

"It's quite an unusual way [for a meet the candidate event to be held] and is a totally different way to find out about them."

He said about 150 regularly attended Pecha Kucha nights in Whangarei and they were generally a younger, "different" crowd than those that traditionally attended local body election meetings.

Mr Keene said most of those regulars were there last night and all were interested to see how the candidates did in the unusual format.

Joy Allen, aged 86, had never been to a Pecha Kucha evening before and wanted to see how the candidates performed in a format that would be outside their comfort zone. "I don't know much about the candidates so I want to see them here to help make my mind up," she said.

Paulette Scrooby is a Pecha Kucha regular and felt the format would show a side of the candidates' personalities that other events would not.

"'This is the opportunity to see the real person, not just the persona, and it will be very much out of their comfort zones and that's what I want to see them in," she said.

A straw poll was carried out at the end of the evening asking those that attended who they felt performed best. The results will be released today.