Get On-Line With Mayor Bob Harvey
People can chat on-line with one of the country’s most charismatic and dynamic mayors on Thursday, October 16.
Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey has set aside two hours (9.30am-11.30am) to hear from, and respond to, people on whatever
topics they choose.
Mayor Harvey has, on average, 50 one-on-one meetings with constituents each week. Now he is using the internet to make
himself even more accessible.
“The internet has changed the way we go about our lives- from shopping to business,” he says. “And while nothing beats
sitting down with someone face to face, it is another vehicle to allow people to express their views- and get an instant
response.”
“People can already e-mail me at any time through the City web-site,” he says. “But simply because of workloads it can
sometimes take me a couple of days to respond. So I’ve set a date and time to do as many of them as I can, “live”, as
soon as they come in.”
While Mayor Harvey wants people to discuss anything they wish, he is particularly interested in hearing views on the
future of Whenuapai Airbase (which is due to be closed in 2007), and on the lifting of the government moratorium on
genetic modification.
If the exercise is a success, Mayor Harvey hopes to hold his on line constituent clinic regularly. The address is mailto:bob.harvey@waitakere.govt.nz.