I am 54, married to Trisha with three adult children.  We live 5kms west of Huntly and run a successful farming operation and retail business.  I have been a Waikato District Councillor for 9 years, Chairman of Roading for the last six years, a member of the Finance and Policy Committees, and Waikato's representative on the Waikato Regional Transport, the Passenger Transport and Future Proof Sub-regional Growth Committees.

I will strive to integrate the needs of the Franklin community into Waikato District.  I am passionate about continuing the improvements and growth to all our towns and villages, the continued upgrade of our roading network, and support and promote the use of commuter trains and buses.

I bring experience, a common sense approach to decision making and a commitment to listen to what the community wants.  I am standing for the Mayoralty only and ask for your support as your next Mayor.

Top 5 Issues

1. Rates - No one likes paying rates even more than I do, but it is rates that pay for council infrastructure i.e. roading, water, wastewater, rubbish collection, libraries, parks and reserves etc. It is important that rates are kept as close as possible to the rate of inflation so that council infrastructure is maintained and improvements made where necessary.
2. Infrastructure & Redevlopment - It is important that we continue the upgrade of our towns and villages going forward. We have achieved a lot over the past 6 years, and it is important that we continue to identify improvements that can be carrried out in our new towns and villages to the North, as well as continuing with the work already identified in the current Waikato district.
3. Roading - It is important to me that we maintain a high standard of roading in the Waikato District. This includes maintaining our seal extension programme and carrying out the reconstruction of worn out sections of the sealed network (to a minimum of 20kms per year). It is also important that we maintain our unsealed network and keep this at the highest standard of repair at all times.
4. Industry & Employment - If elected your Mayor it would be my role to facilitate appropriate industry within our district. We have many opportunities available due to our proximity to both Auckland and Hamilton. The district will benefit immensely with the completion of the Waikato Expressway as this will bring with it industry opportunities to the region.
5. Vibrant Waikato - The Waikato District is a great place to live, work and play. I will work on your behalf to bring a commuter train service between Hamilton and Auckland. This will provide expanded opportunities for employment and recreational opportunities throughout the district.

Personal Profile

I AM STANDING FOR THE MAYORALTY ONLY.  I am extremely passionate about the Waikato District and have worked very hard on behalf of all ratepayers to make the Waikato District a great place to live, work and play.  I also welcome the new ratepayers of Franklin into the Waikato District and look forward to working hard for them.

I was born and raised in Huntly, 54 years old and married to Trisha for 32 years.  We have three wonderful adult children and are very proud of their achievements to date.  We run a successful beef farming operation in Huntly, and have a successful retail business elsewhere.  I have a very supportive family and I bring sound business acumen to Council.  I enjoy spending time with my family, helping out in the garden and when time permits a spot of fishing.  I also enjoy summer barbeques with friends and family, watching sports and having the occasional game of tennis.

I have been a Waikato District Councillor for 9 years, and the last 6 years I have been Chairman of Roading.  My role as Chairman has led to a number of changes in the roading department by adopting a system of floating lines which enables us to apply a pragmatic view to long term planning for both road maintenance and seal extension.  These are very important to Council achieving its long term goals of having the Council's roads at a very high standard at all times.  During this time we have completed main street redevelopment in Huntly, Ngaruawahia, Raglan and a large amount of redevelopment in our villages Gordonton, Tamahere, Glen Massey, Glen Afton, Pukemiro, Te Kauwhata and Meremere.  I see this work continuing within the Waikato Districts expanded boundary to take in the communities of Tuakau, Port Waikato, Onewhero, Mercer and Pokeno and many others.  This work is important as it gives a balance between rural and urban so that everyone is getting their share of redevelopment over a period of time.

I strongly support continued improvement to public transport and I am personally committed to working to bring commuter trains back to the district.  I see real commercial growth potential.  With this growth brings employment opportunities to the towns and communities.  If elected as your Mayor my role would be to facilitate between appropriate industry and the communities to make sure that these opportunities reach their maximum potential going forward, yet also making sure that the communities maintain their identity and uniqueness.

I am committed to being assessable to the ratepayers, and encourage interaction with Council from individuals, iwi, community groups and organisations.  I believe that consultation with the community is important as it gives council a strong direction on strategic planning going forward.  I bring experience,  strong team leadership to the job with a common sense approach to decision making. I AM STANDING FOR THE MAYORALTY ONLY and I am committed 100% to the position.