Peirce prepared to do hard yards

RANGITIKEI
Twice a bridesmaid, Marton market gardener/businessman Richard Peirce finally gets to walk down the corridors of Rangitikei District government and into the council chamber.
He is the Marton ward's only new councillor, taking the fourth available seat behind present deputy mayor Andy Watson, fourth-term councillor Lynne Sheridan and second-term councillor Mike Jones.
In claiming his seat by a comfortable margin over the rest of the field, Mr Peirce has displaced sitting councillor Kathleen Murphy who had completed one term as a Marton ward representative.
Mr Peirce said being elected to council had left him "a little overawed but not entirely surprised".
He said in 2007 his standing for the mayoralty and a council seat had probably worked against him. This time he sought only a council seat and that had given him a better chance.
Standing for election this time had been an almost last-minute decision.
"Just before nominations closed there were no names in so I thought someone needed to stand. And I'm a great believer in democracy and taking part," he said.
Mr Peirce acknowledged that he has "a fair amount of work" to do in the coming months getting a handle on how the council operates.
But he is keen to pursue some key issues which he feels need to be dealt with.
His priorities include fair and affordable rating, improving drinking water standards, improving drainage to prevent flooding in Marton, and ensuring our roads and footpaths are safer.
In the Hunterville ward councillor-elect Dean McManaway was yesterday pondering what he had let himself in for.
In his first foray into local government he took the one available seat for the Hunterville ward by a wide margin over incumbent Grant Collie, who had served one term on the council.
Mr McManaway said he put his name forward because he felt the ward needed a council representative who had lived in the area for a long time and knew the district and its needs.
"I've always wanted to know what went on behind those doors [at the district council]," he said.
The 53-year-old farmer-agricultural contractor said he was looking forward to joining the council and had no intentions of going in "to stir the pot". "I just want to bring a little common sense to the job," he said.
Mr McManaway was also slightly bemused by the fact that being elected to the district council was "the only job I've ever applied for where I didn't know what I was going to get paid".
In the Bulls ward, newly elected councillor Michelle Fox, was yesterday coming to terms with her success.
Although she had had good feedback from people in the Bulls ward during her campaign she felt hopeful rather than confident. She now joins first-term councillor Sarah Harris in representing the Bulls ward, having beaten long-serving Bulls ward councillor Jill Strugnell.
Mrs Fox describes herself as "a good talker but not much of a public speaker" and said in the early stages of her time on council she would likely do less talking and more listening.
However, she will take a positive attitude into the council chamber and apply her philosophy that "if you want it to happen then you have to make it happen".
And her key aspiration is to somehow link the Rangitikei communities more closely.
The fourth new face on the Rangitikei District Council belongs to Mangaweka gallery owner Richard Aslett, one of three Taihape ward councillors elected unopposed.
Mr Aslett has spent the past three years as chairman of the Taihape Community Board but put himself forward for the district council when it appeared there was going to be no other candidates.
He said the community board experience was like an apprenticeship that had given him a good foundation and better understanding of the issues facing the council.
As chairman of the Taihape Community Board he had been "a bit parochial" but Mr Aslett accepted that as a district councillor he would need to be more focused on district-wide problems.
He would like to achieve strong support for Rangitikei's tourism industry and have the district promoted as a tourism destination and a place to live.