Watch the full Local Focus interview for Yates' views on the region's biggest issues, and our less important quickfire questions
Education is the big issue for Mercia-Dawn Yates who is hoping to keep her seat as a Rotorua general ward councillor.
"Education is the foundation," she said.
"If we can get our communities involved and understand more about the importance of going to school - after Covid and two years of truancy – we need to find solutions to get our kids back into school."
When asked about co-governance, Yates said she was a partnership person and preferred it to the term "co-governance".
"We've got enough examples around us to demonstrate what good partnership looks like especially within council," she said.
On Three Waters, Yates was in general agreement – "if our water is healthy, our people are healthy" – but the obligations being "forced onto councils" was not right.
On homelessness and emergency housing, Yates said there was a lot of work still to be done in that space.
"I'd prefer our own to be sorted first."
Yates said she has been a public servant and a servant of the public for 30 years and being a councillor is the natural extension of that.
Other candidates chose to not be interviewed by Local Focus.
Another mayoral candidate chose to not be interviewed by Local Focus.