Q&A with Kāpiti mayoral candidate Rob McCann

Kāpiti mayoral candidate Rob McCann.

Why do you want to be mayor?

In my three years I've spearheaded the creation of a housing programme that has purchased land, undertaken a comprehensive housing needs assessment, secured $29.3 million from central government towards vital infrastructure in Otāki, working with developers on several community housing projects and progressing a community housing trust. As your mayor I want to bring that energy and ability to get things done. I see an opportunity to represent Kāpiti as a fantastic place to raise your children, a great place to locate your business, a beautiful place to retire and an awesome place to visit. But that means being seen and heard in person, and on social media. Getting things done means working with staff, councillors, community board members and most importantly you. There's no ivory tower with me, just rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck in to ensure Kāpiti delivers on its potential.

What do you believe are the top three issues that need addressing?

Council has lost the trust of our community and we need to win that back with transparency. I will end closed doors meetings that exclude the public. Council needs to demonstrate that we're listening. That means consulting before we put projects in place, so we bring people with us. We need to demonstrate financial responsibility, ending "nice-to-have" projects like the Kāpiti Gateway and focusing on vital community assets like the Waikanae Library and Paraparaumu Community Centre. Working with the chief executive, I will initiate a line-by-line review of council's finances, negotiating with councillors on what's in the budgets, and where we can make savings to ensure rates can be kept down.

If elected, what do you hope to achieve over the next three years?

I hope to have fully implemented the housing strategy getting people out of motels and have established the Community Housing Trust that works with developers to build affordable homes. Our carbon footprint will have been reduced, more trees planted, increased biodiversity, and a more efficient rubbish collection service. We would have negotiated the best outcomes for Kāpiti resulting from government reforms and continued to invest in infrastructure projects like the Waikanae Library, to meet our growing community and respond to the impacts of climate change. Through stronger relationships with Greater Wellington Regional Council we'd have improved public transport.

What do you see as your most important attribute you would bring to council?

As a leader I build teams to get the best out of others. If you're in charge you can bark out orders, but what you really want is everyone, whether it's community boards, councillors or staff, all contributing towards making Kāpiti the best place it can be.

How will you ensure all voices of the community are heard?

I want to help our community boards be the eyes and ears of Kāpiti, not bring in consultants from Wellington to tell us what we think. We also need to be strategic, ensuring council has good relationships with our clubs, societies, networks, businesses, NGOs and ensure the mayor's door is always open.

What do you do to relax?

Our children are only young once, so we try and make sure we spend as much fun time together, whether that's playing music or our music night where we all pick songs on YouTube. That's how I first heard Billie Eilish, and I'm writing this having just watched her live with my oldest child.