DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: DAY TWO

DAY TWO:
Sunday 22 August 2010
It is 25 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 48 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

A really important part of my campaigning strategy took place yesterday which I forgot to mention. My big sister Rosina and a friend of hers dropped off over 500 flyers to mailboxes in the Sandringham district for me. Rosina has been working tirelessly for me over the last few weeks, sourcing printers, caterers, selling fund raising tickets for me. My good friend Donald Hollingsworth has also been a great support, designing my flyers, my invitations giving me moral support. Every campaigner needs a good crew behind them.

I divided the Owairaka Ward up into 4 grids. My flyers get dropped off in 500 batch lots at a time. I’ll then follow up and door knock at those addresses within 72 hours of drop off. Ambitious I think for a first timer. It’s time consuming obviously but I’m keeping on schedule. Rosina dropped off on the eastern side of Sandringham from Mt Albert Rd to Reimers Ave just before Eden Park.

This grid is made up of both privately owned homes, state houses and numerous blocks of flats. We have both older established families who have lived in the area over 40 years to aspirational couples starting off on the property ladder to new immigrant New Zealanders. In fact Statistics New Zealand reckons Albert, Eden Roskill of which Sandringham is a part; is made up of mainly European residents with the Asian population making up 31% of the population. Maori are only 6% while our Pasifika cousins make up 10% of the community. Albert Eden Roskill is also relatively youthful the median age is 33.

I remember when we were little we were the only Maori family in Galbraith Street. Our cousins the Ratapu whanau lived in O’Donnell Ave. The Ratahi and Hunia whanau lived in Potter Ave and my best friend Cheryl Waipouri lived in Sheppard Avenue. But now like then this side of Sandringham - Maori remain the minority.

Rosina found whanau in Lambeth, Calgary and Halesowen as well as Oxton, Mars, Jason and Patterson Streets. I intend to go mihi these whanau, talk to them find out that, they are registered to vote hopefully and convince them to vote for me and my C&R colleagues. These streets are a mix of private dwellings and state housing. The area is in contrast to where we door knocked yesterday but just as important to C&R and to me personally as this is where our whanau whanui are.

Citizen and Ratepayers promote affordable rates for home owners and keeping those rates within the rate of inflation. Affordable housing is for me a central government issue and should be an area that’s paid for with our taxes not rates. A good strong local council will know the difference between local and central government issues.

Sunday I did a solo meet and greet at the Sandringham Shopping Centre. I grew up there. Me and my brother and sisters went to the Mayfair Picture theatre, Uncle Bill was the proprietor. Years later multiplexes forced Uncle Bill to ditch his F – Sound of Music and G – John Wayne rated movies in favour of XXX rated adult only fare. It wasn’t long before he sold out completely. The theatre is now a Church.

At the corner of Sandringham and Kitchener St where Ashley Goodwin’s Ray White Realty is, is the epi-centre of Auckland City, in terms of navigational compass bearing points. It was thought that from that corner a traveller could head out in any direction and it would take exactly the same time to reach the four corners of Auckland.

When I was small, the shops were owned by Pakeha. Now the strip is referred to as the ‘Spicy Mile’ because of the number of Asian restaurants and vendors. I don’t know what the Asians think of this – I must ask them?

I introduced myself to all the store owners open that day, almost 50 in total. Some told me of issues affecting them, mainly around safe parking. Raj from Gate of India Restaurant has been in Sandringham for 8 years. He’s at the Southern end and thinks the crossing should be between Haverstock and Harwood to stop cars speeding around the bend and screeching to a halt at the crossing outside Viola Cafe. I think it makes a lot of sense and I’m wondering why this common sense approach to a potentially fatal issue hasn’t been addressed.

Later in the day I met up with Cameron and Sarah on Summit Drive. We door knocked starting from the Mountain top and down to Mt Albert Road. From the responses we got it was abundantly clear we were in C&R territory. From the responses it was also very clear that the residents appreciated us introducing ourselves. I think it’s really important not to take supporters for granted that they’ll always be there for you. Their continued support deserves our attention and I was pleased to represent C&R. Chris Fletcher joined us in the campaign camper van which lent further credibility to our visit.

Following the Summit Rd door knock we cruised the streets in the campaign van doing the mega-phone ‘preaching-the-message’ thing. Feleti Key from the Puketapapa ward drove us round the Pt Chevalier streets and into Waterview.

Waterview is an interesting area. It’s been under the spotlight lately with residents complaining about SH20. The motorway is a mix of surface and tunnel and plans to use this area to link the North Western with the Southern motorway has been on the drawing board since 1977. The actual configuration however was a recent decision.

In pre-colonial times this area was used by Ngati Whatua and referred to as Te Whau and the creek Auaunga. Ngati Whatua Chief Apihai Te Kauwau apparently gave Govenor Hobson 11,000 acres of this area.

Today Waterview is like a forgotten town. There’s a high density state housing pocket, around Saxon, Waterbank, Daventry and Herdman. A block of shops on Waterbank is closed down except for a laundromat. Their nearest township is Pt Chevalier.

As a small business owner I want to find a way to get businesses back into those closed down blocks. They would need to be sustainable businesses and not volatile ventures prone to risk during harsh economic times. They could be retail stores or commercial businesses. Businesses of any type would generate buzz and activity and this area is in desperate need.

We’re going back to Waterview next Sunday to hold a mobile clinic there. We’ll encourage the locals to come out and korero with us.

As for cruising the streets ‘preaching-the-message’, via mega-phone in a camper van malarkey? Sarah, Cameron Chris and I all took turns. Interestingly as soon as I got a hold of the mega-phone I started yelling. Like they couldn’t hear me out side of the van. On a couple of occasions Chris Fletcher had to prize the mega-phone out of my hands, ooh!