Well, what a surprise – Andrew Williams pipped George Wood for mayor! George didn't bother responding to my survey, while Andrew rated himself “Generally in favour”. Now I don't pretend to take the credit for Andrew's victory – I suspect the Whenuapai airport controversy had more to do with it!
But I would like to thank the North Shore Times, CycleWire, Sportzhub and the CAN website for publicising the URL of this blog, and helping make cycling one of the election issues. I know that many candidates received requests from cyclists and cycling organisations. Thank you for your patience in responding – view it as confirmation that there are many cyclists out there who don't believe enough is being done quickly enough to improve facilities for our most vulnerable road users.
Just how much this blog influenced opinion is hard to say, but I'd like to think it made some difference. And the feedback I received from many people vindicated my decision to survey and publish – thanks for your support.
So on to the results.
From my previous posts you'll recall that over 80% of candidates were either enthusiastic advocates or generally in favour of cycling initiatives. I'm delighted that of the 16 successful Councillors, 13 (81%) fall in to the same category.
Recall that each candidate was asked how they will treat cycling initiatives if elected:
A. Enthusiastic advocate
B. Generally in favour
C. Ambivalent
D. Generally not in favour
E. Cyclists should get off the road
Here's how our newly elected representatives responded:
MAYOR
Andrew Williams B
COUNCIL
Northern Ward
Julia Parfitt B
Callum Blair No reply
Margaret Miles A
Joy Brett B
Lisa Whyte B
Harbour Ward
Grant Gillon B
Tony Holman B
Heather Brown B
Ann Hartley A
Vivienne Keohane B
Central Ward
Dianne Hale A
Andrew Williams B
Chris Darby A
Kevin Schwass No reply
Jan O'Connor A
Ken McKay C
While I didn't survey them, Christine Rankin and Joel Cayford were the successful ARC councillors representing the Shore. I don't know Christine's views, but I'm delighted Joel was re-elected. Joel is well known for his environmentally friendly views, and his focus on public transport and the benefits of cycling.
My plea to all successful candidates is this.
As you sit down at the Council table and in the Committee rooms you will be making decisions that will have a long term impact on our wonderful city. Please promote the vision of the Shore as a great place to live, where people , lifestyle and the environment come first, and make your decisions accordingly.
Cheers - Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment