North Shore Mayor To Run For Auckland Mayoralty

North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams has announced that he will be contesting the Mayoralty in the forthcoming Auckland Council local body elections.

"In recent months an increasing number of people have been urging me to stand. This has intensified in the past week to the point where I have made a decision to run for office." says Mayor Williams.

"I have had one term's experience as mayor of New Zealand's 4th largest city, North Shore City, and I believe I have been very successful in that role. Prior to that I had experience as a city councillor and community board member. I am also a North Shore Hearings Commissioner and as such have added knowledge of the regulatory side of council and all that is involved in the resource consent processes."

"My previous career dating back to 1977 in international trade adds the business dimension to skills that I would bring to the mayoral role. For nine years I was the Trade Commissioner for Belgium and Luxembourg, and included extensive consular and diplomatic activities as the Honorary Vice Consul of Belgium. I find that the trade and negotiations experience I have had are most helpful in my mayoral discussion, helping to resolve many situations that need a workable outcome."

"One of my key objectives if elected would be to ensure that we look after the communities of Auckland so that wherever the citizens of the new city live or work, they feel equally part of the new city. This is not just about an Auckland CBD-centric focused council where the outlying areas take second place in community priorities."

"When I refer to communities I mean not just the different physical geographical communities but also communites of interest including community organisations, ethnic communities, our aged and youth communities, disabled and disadvantaged communities, and sport and cultural communities."

"I will also be giving high priority with a progressive leadership role towards advancing Auckland's transport needs, accelerating economic development and job creation, sustainable regional planning with careful environmental safeguards, and will work closely with Police and other agencies for public safety and crime prevention."

"I will use my negotiating skills to bring Auckland together to advance the Auckland waterfront project and stop the many years of indecision about this most special part of our harbour. It is time for Auckland to come together with a team plan that we can all buy into and see a collective vision that we will all be proud of."

"I have strong relationships with many of the key people across the region and nationally that will help us to bring the new Auckland Council into life with positive energy and spirit."

ENDS

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