TAURANGA, Thursday 25th July 2019: Erika Harvey, the dynamic entre-preneur whose campaigns to bring about social change have touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and politicians, is standing as a councillor in this year’s elections in the Otumoetai/Pyes Pa Ward.

Cr Catherine Stewart is not running for this seat, and Erika is hoping to fill it.

Erika has strong support from Tauranga teachers, parents, business owners and community lead-ers.

Erika strikes a brilliant balance of business nous and community compassion. Her #DearJacinda video letter explained to the Prime Minister the plight of children who have additional learning needs in an underfunded education system. This video went viral attracting tens of thousands of views.

A video Erika created for Autism Awareness Week showcasing the brilliance of Piper, her young autistic daughter, reciting the Lord’s Prayer in te reo reached over 200,000 views and showed the nation another side of this often misunderstood condition.

Erika says she is not afraid to speak up for on issues that matter and is passionate about the busi-ness world and building a connected community.

“Tauranga is a vibrant, thriving city with an exciting future for our children’s children. With cre-ativity, intellectual rigor, business acuity and heart – together we can solve our city’s problems and turn them into opportunities,” she says.

Just last week Erika’s courageous leadership was showcased in the Tauranga Council Chambers, where she was acknowledged for her three years of persistence on a community issue affecting hardworking small business owners.

Through diligence and hard graft, Erika unravelled and explained with clarity complex issues arising around the Marine Precinct project. She advocated for the affected community with such clear and sound logic, that the Council agreed an advisory board was needed to be established with key stakeholders before any further developments are made.

“I’m not interested in being right, I’m interested in the right thing being done - it’s all about val-ues.”

Erika says she will inject flair and personality into her campaign and is looking forward to getting out and about to meet people in the Otumoetai/Pyes Pa Ward.

“My campaign will be a grassroots one, that will show voters first-hand how I interact with peo-ple from all walks of life. I am curious to hear from voters, to showcase their thinking about their city and hear what’s on their mind.

“I believe that people come first and there are a lot of people struggling in this city, I really want to make a positive difference for this amazing community using my experience as a community and business leader,” she says.

Erika, her husband Dan and his dad Russell own Longline Fishing Company, a business globally recognized for quality, sus-tainability, and innovation. It provides fish to Michelin restaurants around the world.

Erika’s Business and Community Roles

• Erika is Managing Director of InVenture, a successful business advisory company specialising in helping SMB's and start-up companies to improve culture and drive growth.
• Erika is the chairperson of the school board at Greerton Village School.
• Erika is an advisory board member for TYDT (Tauranga Youth Development Team) which supports youth in the Bay of Plenty.

Follow Erika on:

www.facebook.com/ErikaHarveyTCC

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