Lodge owner throws her hat in the ring

Tracey O'Callaghan has thrown her hat in the ring for the Carterton District Council election. PHOTO/FILE

Another candidate has thrown her hat in the ring for Carterton's local body elections.

Tracey O'Callaghan, the owner of The Summit Lodge in Gladstone and a MP support worker for Ron Mark, this week confirmed her intention to run for council.

Ms O'Callaghan was one of seven candidates to stand in last year's by-election and said her fourth placing had not deterred her from standing again.

"It was a good experience and that was only one position with seven candidates so that was like the trial run and this is the real thing now.

"From what I understand there is going to be a lot of good candidates and new people so it's good for the district and good for Wairarapa."

Her priority as a councillor would be the sustainability of services and finances, Ms O'Callaghan said.

"It's the long-term resilience and sustainability of the community and there are so many pressures on communities -- it's getting more challenging."

The council needed to keep an eye on finances while still providing services, she said.

"It's working smarter and trying to get more for less. It all comes together under that issue of sustainability. We don't want our rates to go up because we can't afford it but we want all those services there."

A Destination Wairarapa board member and life coach, Ms O'Callaghan has worked in HR and senior management at IRD and police, and said her experience would be an asset to the council.

"I add something different to the mix. I have quite a different background to existing councillors so I'll come at things from left field sometimes and put some different ideas into the mix.

"I've got skills to offer and I know the council fairly well, particularly after having completed the review of the Events Centre and so I feel that I've got skills that could be useful, particularly in terms of whatever the Local Government Commission decides to do with amalgamation."

An opponent of the super-city proposal, her position on amalgamating the three Wairarapa councils was not yet decided.

"There could definitely be some closer working together, whether it's a merger or more shared services -- I'd need to look at all the information -- but there's some room for closer working together."

Whatever happened it was important to preserve the different culture of the towns and the ability of council to be responsive, she said.

"We don't want a Titanic, we want lots of nimble boats so we can still do what we need to do, but if we can work together as a flotilla, then that's all good."