Kirsty Pickett To Stand For Southland District Mayoralty

The race for the mayoralty of the Southland District Council has become a two horse race.

Te Anau based publisher and former journalist Kirsty Pickett has put herself forward as the candidate for the mayoralty of the District Council.

SDC councillor Rob Scott is the other candidate at this stage seeking the SDC mayoralty at this years local body elections.

The mayoralty contest is wide open as incumbent mayor Gary Tong is not standing as he is contesting the mayoralty of Invercargill city.

In a statement Kirsty Pickett says one of the issues Southland needed to talk about was the merit, or otherwise, of championing one territorial authority for Southland.

She said she also wants to lead a repositioning of the SDC as the true representative force for the people who live here, not a beast in and of itself that we feel we’re forever fighting.

We’re on the same side, Pickett said.

Ms Pickett says she believes she has the leadership skills necessary to help the council navigate the journey ahead, and the communication skills to ensure that nobody in our district is left behind, she said.

Pickett currently serves on the Community Trust South as a trustee and is a trust-appointed director of Invest South.

Candidate nominations for local body elections open on 15 July 2022, and close at 12noon on 12 August 2022.

This year’s local body election voting papers will be distributed from 16 September closes on 8 October.

Below is Kirsty’s media release.

Today I announce my intention to seek election to the office of Mayor of the Southland District.

A journalist for more than 30 years, I have been enormously privileged that my career has enabled me to meet and tell the stories of people from all walks of life. It has given me a unique insight into the people and issues that make Southland what it is, particularly the nuances of local government and governance.

Having reported on countless council and committee meetings, you could say I have spent the past 30 years “keeping the bastards honest”. I feel it’s now time to step up to become an active contributor to serving our district.

I might not have all the answers, but what I do have is the ability to ask the right questions. And there are a lot of questions ahead of us to be answered.

New Zealand’s system of local democracy and governance is about to enter a period of change on an unprecedented scale – never before have we seen the very roles and functions that currently define our local councils under such scrutiny.

Southlanders have a long history of beating the odds and emerging stronger when we’re backing each other. Quite simply, we’re better together.

To bring us together, I want to stop consulting and start talking again. And I want to promote a way of talking with each other that is polite and evidence-based, not just emotional, antagonistic or prejudiced. Good conversations lead to good decision-making.

One of the issues we need to talk about is the merit, or otherwise, of championing one territorial authority for Southland.

I also want to lead a repositioning of the Southland District Council as the true representative force for the people who live here, not a beast in and of itself that we feel we’re forever fighting. We’re on the same side. We’re better together.

Both born-and-bred Southlanders, my husband of 29 years, David, and I have chosen Te Anau as our home for the past 13 and-a-half years. That this was also the home of Frana Cardno – New Zealand’s longest-serving female mayor, who served the Southland District as our mayor for 21 years – is not lost on me. I had a long professional relationship with Frana, right up until her death in 2015, and I’ve reflected on that a lot over the past few months as I have weighed my decision to attempt to follow in her footsteps. Love her or hate her, she was an inspirational leader and a ferocious advocate for Southland. She earned a reputation in Wellington for endlessly bending the ear of politicians – usually to lobby for more funding for Southland projects.

As we enter this period of huge change, we will again need a proudly parochial Mayor with a dogged determination to go in to bat for Southland. They’re big shoes to fill, but I feel ready for that challenge.

Change is not to be feared, but we need to be able to meet it head-on, to ensure that those things we can influence are done with Southland’s best interests front and centre. I believe I have the leadership skills necessary to help the council navigate the journey ahead, and the communication skills to ensure that nobody in our district is left behind.

Check lout Kirtsy’s website fro more information kirstypickett.nz