Local elections 2025: First-term Whanganui district councillor Glenda Brown ready for round two

Glenda Brown says Government overreach muddies the council's mandate. Photo / Mike Tweed

Glenda Brown is enjoying her first term as a Whanganui district councillor and wants to do it all again.

She said she had learned a lot over the past three years and it would be a disservice to ratepayers not to use that knowledge in the next triennium.

Brown, a director of eHaus, said there were lessons to be learned about the Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment and its cost rises, but it would offer a legacy for the next 100 years.

“We have to think about what the future looks like, as well as understanding and respecting that ratepayers are finding it difficult,” she said.

“The next big project is the [Whanganui] port, and I would really like us to highlight that we don’t want the same [cost increases] to happen again.”

Brown said councillors had been collegial over the past three years.

“Obviously, there have been robust debates but, when you leave the chambers, we are respectful colleagues.”

She said she was looking forward to getting stuck into Resource Management Act reforms, with two new acts coming by the end of the year, but uncertainty remained.

“Are we [council] going to be losing some say?

“I’m interested to see how it’ll play out and how it follows through to the planning department.”

Constant overreach from the Government into councils “muddies the mandate”, Brown said.

“Some things might be useful, like getting back to basics, but we’ve done that – 82% of our budget is on infrastructure.”

Brown was happy with where Whanganui landed for Local Water Done Well requirements.

The council will join with Ruapehu District Council to form a two-council water delivery entity.

“Early on, there wasn’t a conversation about having a non-harmonised model. That’s what people were upset about and fair enough,” she said.

“Now, everyone is paying for their own.”

She backed Whanganui businesses and the district remained an economical place for others to move there, Brown said.

“Things like a hotel, the council’s job is to enable it, and help with consents and planning, but building it is not our core business.

“It is our business to enable people to set up here.”

Brown said her feet were now firmly under the council table.

“Most importantly, I’m committed to the community.”

Voting in this year’s local election begins on September 9 and closes at noon on election day, October 11.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.