Catherine Farmer: Avondale-Roskill By-Election Candidate

City Vision has selected well known local Catherine Farmer to be our candidate for the Avondale-Roskill Council By-Election.

Catherine is a long-standing member of the Avondale Community Board and has a strong record of being active in the local community.

Recent savage cuts to community services by the C&R Council show how desperately Avondale-Roskill needs someone who will stand up and fight for our area. The three existing Avondale-Roskill C&R Councillors have been complicit in cutting spending on important local initiatives such as the Avondale pool. Catherine will get stuck in and speak up for Avondale-Roskill.

Vote Catherine Farmer to give Avondale-Roskill a voice on Council.

By-Election in Avondale-Roskill

As earlier reported, the death of Councillor Linda Leighton means that a by-election will be held in the Avondale-Roskill Ward.

The Election day will be Wednesday 9 April, with ballot papers mailed to residents three weeks earlier on Wednesday 19 March.

Despite reports from the all-knowing Aaron Bhatnagar, City Vision Talk can confirm that the City Vision candidate for the by-election has not yet been selected (but will be within the week)!

Our candidate, when chosen, will be campaigning hard on securing a fair deal for Avondale-Roskill residents. As evidenced by the recent decision by C&R to can the Avondale pool, it is important to have a strong local Councillor who is willing to stand up and fight for Avondale-Roskill.

Battle for the Avondale Pool Heats up

One of the new C&R Council's first cuts to community infrastructure is the recent announcement that funding for the planned new public pool in Avondale has been axed.

City Vision Talk first reported the possibility of this occuring under a C&R Council back in September 2007.

The good news is that the resistance to this 1990s style programme of cutbacks is beginning. While people clearly want to see their rates well spent, the people of Auckland understand that good community investments such as public pools pay off in the long run in terms of greater community cohesion, and as an outlet for the energies of young people who might otherwise resort to less savoury activities.

The Avondale Community Board has made it's opposition clear, passing a motion calling for the pool project to be re-instated. City Vision Board Member Catherine Farmer is leading the charge, noting that:

"Part of Council's promise to the community which will undergo rapid growth and change as a result of more intensive housing, is to provide a swimming pool and other facilities to cater for the thousands of additional residents in Avondale"

Predictably, C&R members of the Avondale Board, Cr David Hay, and Board Member Lily Ho abstained from this motion (they could at least have been honest and straight out voted against it!).

City Vision will continue working with the community on this issue, and we will keep you up to date.

Back on-line

The City Vision blog is back on-line after a summer slumber!

2008 promises to be a big year on the local body front in Auckland city with a by-election, possible reform of Auckland's local government arrangements, a C&R Council poised to cut services to the bone, and all with the spectre of a general election hovering in the background.

City Vision Talk will be keeping you up to date with all of these issues from a progressive perspective, and we welcome your comments.