Ōpōtiki District Council has a team of four Māori striving to win the mayoralty and three council seats at the local government election next month.
The group is running under the name Reo Hapori. Louis Rāpihana is running for mayor and Curley Keno, Maude Maxwell and Courtney Andrews are running for the council.
The members of Reo Hapori say they aim to work together in the lead-up to the election, meet face to face with voters, encourage them to vote and win.
Opōtiki has a population of 10,000 of whom 80% are Māori. Rāpihana says with these numbers these four have more of a chance to win a seat on the council if Māori vote. All four are on the general roll.
Rāpihana says he is saddened the ratepayers did not want Māori wards as part of the Ōpōtiki Council’s makeup and so they were not made available this year.
“If you want a Māori mayor, then Māori need to vote,” Rāpihana says.
Rāpihana has been an Ōpōtiki District Council councillor for the past four years. But now he wants to become the first Māori mataora-bearing mayor of Ōpōtiki.
He says issues that face the Ōpōtiki community besides water and roads are housing and employment, which he would like to tackle as mayor.
He says the people of Opōtiki are “ready to see a Māori mayor, ready to see a representative for them, one who connects to everyone of Te Whānau a Āpanui marae, and who bears the mataora/facial tattoo.
“They know me, Māori and Pākehā, they are ready, I am ready,” Rāpihana says.
By his side are three friends who are new to local government but say they are “super excited” to be in the run for one of the six council.
The four have known each other since childhood, growing up together, and now as young adults and ringawera in their communities, they are ready to bring a voice for their people to Ōpōtiki Council.
“Building a bridge between the council and the community has to happen by allowing our people to feel safe that they can communicate with us, so being part of the town, walking through the town, and allow our people to be heard more because that hasn’t happened,” Maxwell says.
“It is our responsibility to change the landscape and how we are doing that is by saying, ‘ let’s use our skills within our hapori collective to activate those opportunities,” says Andrews.
Keno (Te Upokorehe)says she is anxious and overwhelmed at the same time pushing for a council seat for the first time but also says it’s important for Māori to vote for her if her goal is to become a reality.
“I know our people don’t vote but that’s what Reo Hapori is about. We go and meet our people, encourage, explain why they should vote, how they can vote, and what happens when we get in and sit at the council table. Their voice is heard as we speak for them and address their concerns at a local governance level”, Keno says.
There are three other mayoral candidates: Steve Collins, David Moore and Lyn Riesterer. Other candidates standing for the council are: Maxie Kemara, Tom Brooks, Shona Browne, Spike Collier, Barry Howe, Kingi Williams, Debi Hocart, Steve Nelson, Dean Petersen.
