12 April 2016

Media Release

Tasman Councillor Judene Edgar not seeking re-election

It has often been considered that she would be the next and first woman Mayor of Tasman, but instead Richmond councillor Judene Edgar has decided not to seek re-election at all this year.

Ms Edgar, who has been a Tasman District Councillor for nine years, was the highest polling of incumbent councillors at the last election.

Nominations for candidates for the 8 October election don’t open until 15 July, but Ms Edgar said that she wanted to give people time to give serious consideration to standing for council. She said that she was also working with the National Council of Women Nelson Branch to hold an information session for women interested in standing for governance roles at this years’ election and would be assisting the Council in their information sessions for potential candidates.

“Being a councillor is quite different to what a lot of people would imagine, so I wanted to be able to make myself available for anyone interested in talking about what the role entails and the commitment required”, she said.

"Council cannot be a secondary commitment that you fit in around other work; it requires dedicated and hardworking local councillors that stay abreast of the issues of Council and the concerns of the public," she said.

Generally considered a “straight talker”, hardworking, committed and honest are three terms frequently used by ratepayers when describing Ms Edgar.

Despite saying that there is still a lot of work to be done at Tasman District Council, she says that after nine years on Council she’s looking for new challenges and new opportunities.

“Bottom line, there will always be a lot of things that need to be done at Council. Even the things we do really well can always be done more efficiently or more cost effectively. Council has to be about listening and responding to the ratepayers’ needs and priorities and continuous improvement”.

Some of the highlights of her nine years on Council include chairing the Community Development Committee, bringing infrastructure asset and project management services in-house; effecting a no smoking policy in council parks and reserves; construction of Tasman’s Great Taste Trail; implementation of the new recycling service; developments at Saxton Field; chairing the Joint Regional Solid Waste Working Party; and supporting community advocacy such as through the establishment of the Accessibility for All Forum.

She considered that one of the hardest aspects of Council is the continual changes to legislation. She cites changes to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, Resource Management Act and Local Government Act as examples of changes without corresponding improvements in process, outcomes or cost.

“In fact, generally it costs the ratepayers for councils to implement the legislative changes with little to no demonstrable benefit to them whatsoever”, she says.

Local Government Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga announced further reforms to the Local Government Act last month including the potential for council amalgamations.

A strong opponent of the amalgamation proposal brought by former Nelson Mayor Aldo Miccio in 2013, Ms Edgar states that she isn’t opposed to a review of the region’s governance or service delivery but considered that the previous process was divisive and hadn’t considered the needs of the full cross-section of the community.

“Any review into the governance structures and models for service delivery for the Nelson Tasman region needs to be with everyone working together without agendas or set positions and a genuine desire to achieve the best possible outcome for the region as a whole”.

Ms Edgar did not rule out standing again in the future.

ENDS

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