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The make-up of the newly expanded Howick Local Board has taken shape with four newcomers set to take their seats when the board is inaugurated on October 30. With the final results having been confirmed on October 18, representing the Botany subdivision on the local board will be Damian Light, who served as its chairperson during the previous term, and fellow incumbent Mike Turinsky. The Botany subdivision had three elected members on the board during its previous term, but now has two due to the creation of the new Flat Bush subdivision, which gets three members. Light says he was pleased to be re-elected to the board while also being disappointed he was unsuccessful in his campaign for a seat on Auckland Council’s governing body for the Howick ward. “I’ve only been on three years and only had one term [on the board]. I’m pleased with what we’ve done, but there’s so much more to do, especially in Flat Bush. “We’ve got the library opening in January and we’ve got facilities we have to build. “While I’m sort of disappointed not to get council, it’s not like the local board is going to be boring or without its challenges, so I’m pretty happy with that.” Light says he’s enjoyed chairing the board over its previous term and he’s thankful to its staff for their work. One of the biggest local infrastructure projects that will impact the Botany subdivision in future is the next stage of the Eastern Busway project as it heads toward Botany Town Centre. “It’s going to be really disruptive and we’ve seen that in Pakuranga, but we have to ensure we get it right with how we tie that in and how we connect it and what that’s going to do to the town centre. So there’s some big stuff coming.” In the Howick subdivision, Bo Burns earned the most votes, but she was also the highest-polling candidate in the race for seats on Auckland Council, so will vacate her local board seat. As a result, the board’s Howick subdivision will be represented by incumbent members John Spiller and Adele White, with newcomer Luke Collings being added by finishing fourth and taking the seat vacated by Burns. The board’s Pakuranga subdivision will be represented by incumbent members Bruce Kendall and Katrina Bungard and newcomer Jack Collins. Collins, a former Howick Youth Council member, says he wants to help make the new board cohesive and he wants to contribute as well as listen and learn. “There’s a lot of experienced members on that board. It’s a good mixture of experienced members and some new faces, like myself. “We’re growing as a board, there are going to be more voices around that table, and we need to work together. I want to make sure I’m doing my part to add to that.” In the Flat Bush subdivision, incumbent board member Peter Young will be joined by two new members, Kai Zeng and Krish Naidu. Zeng says as a new board member he expects he’ll have a lot to learn. “I think just going in [intending] to change things would be immature, but obviously we do need some changes if we want to see results, like the Ormiston library and pool. “I think public consultation and council reporting is very complicated, so there’s a lot of things that need to be changed, but I need to settle down and be patient first before doing that kind of thing.” Naidu says he intends to take some time to learn how the board works and develop relationships with its other members. “I’ve got an advantage because I’ve been the co-chair of Auckland Council’s ethnic communities advisory panel. So I understand the council systems. “I’ve got a good sound understanding of the structures of the council and how it works and local boards.” Naidu says he believes local boards should be about their communities, not politics. “I really want to make sure, regardless of who’s stood for whichever parts of the Howick ward, that it’s about really working together to deliver for the ratepayers of Howick.” Disclosure: Bo Burns is the owner of Times Media.
