Getting to know me, getting to know all about me

Anna Natalya Harrison - little girl version
(still have the same hair do, maybe just a bit more proficient with the hair brush these days) 
The business end of the campaign is upon me.  Voting papers will arrive at the end of the week.  I've read the candidate handbooks and the information from Local Government NZ and I know that low voter turnout is a reality for local body elections.  The main reason given by eligible voters for not sending papers back is that they don't know who the candidates are.  The other little gem of information is that most people who end up voting do it as soon as they receive the voting papers. That gives me a double purpose for the next few weeks - making sure Cromwell knows who I am and why I am standing, and encouraging people to have their say - vote!

I am hoping that my little musings, blog posts, piccollages, appli videos, recipes and facebook photos have helped Cromwell people to get to know me as a person and as a candidate.  I love living in Cromwell, I wasn't born here, I didn't grow up here, I chose to be here.

Good, clean Cromwell fun!
Cromwell has provided an excellent environment for me to follow my passions and to bring up my family.  It has been an ideal location for my husband to build his business and for me to grow in my career.  Goldfields had less than 70 students when we moved to Cromwell.  It was a school in need of strong leadership.  It was at its low point as Cromwell's identity began the monumental shift that we are still in the middle of from home to the Clyde Dam workforce - to a desirable, thriving community, the heart of the Central Otago wine industry, an industrial hub, a great place to live and work.  The school, like the town is now thriving.  It is of course a bigger school, because of population growth. It is also a better school, because of a strong strategic vision and a lot of hard work.

We are at a crux in Cromwell at the moment, we are a bigger town and we have the opportunity to be a better town.  There are lots of new people in town, lots of building work, lots of young families.  As we get bigger we need to take care of what we value about our town, to plan for the future to ensure that it continues to be a great place to live and work for everyone, young and old, whether they were born and raised here or arrived yesterday.  It is going to take a strong strategic vision and a lot of hard work.

Look out for my flier in your mail box - don't bin it, read it and vote!
I am going to be out and about over the next week, pounding the streets to deliver my flyers to the Cromwell community.  I bring a fresh perspective for the future of Cromwell and I appreciate your support.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lamb Shanks with sweet chilli and black bean

Image
This dish has a rich, tasty sauce. The shanks are browned and then cooked in the sauce until the meat is very tender. This can be done in the oven, crockpot, stove top or in a deep electric frypan. Best served with mashed potato sweetened with carrot, kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin or parsnip.  Ingredients Lamb shanks - 1 per person 1/4 cup black bean sauce 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce 1 1/2 cups water 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic - crushed Method In an electric frypan Heat the pan on the highest setting place the shanks (no oil needed) in the pan, pop the lid on and brown on all sides - this will take 15-20 minutes.  Turn pan down to a simmer setting combine all the other ingredients and pour over the shanks. Place the lid back on and leave to simmer until meat is very tender approx 1 1/2 hours. Turn the shanks from time to time to make sure they are coated in the sauce. Keep an eye on the sauce and add more water if needed....
Read more

Community consultation, conversations and questions

Image
Many of you will have seen that my fellow Cromwell Community Board (CCB) member Robin Dicey posed some questions for our community in The Bulletin last week.  Like all of us on the CCB Robin is looking for ways to engage and connect with the community.  We all want to be doing the best for those that we represent and to be making decisions that reflect what the residents and ratepayers of Cromwell actually want to see in our great wee town.  So, well done to Robin for trying to get the conversation going on a range of issues.  I've popped an image of Robin's questions below - you can also find them on page 12 of The Bulletin dated 12 January 2017.  Robin has included his contact details for anyone interested in contributing to the discussion.  I would be very happy to be contacted too - anna.harrison@codc.govt.nz or via my Facebook page Anna Harrison Cromwell Community Board. One of the questions Robin asks is in regard to the level of community con...
Read more

Circus Time!

Image
I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of weeks.  I've attended all meetings required of me, engaged in discussion and discourse, listened and expected to be heard and thought that there had been a resolution to halt the action to remove Neil Gillespie as Board Chair with only 13 months to an election and with the immensely important Master Plan Project in full swing.  I left a meeting on Tuesday 21st August thinking that a decision had been made to seek further governance training and to set out a rules of engagement document outlining roles and responsibilities of board members and their relationship with each other, council, the mayor and council staff.  So when I was contacted less than a week later on Monday 27 August I was surprised to hear that a requisition letter calling for the removal of Neil as chair had been sent to Sanchia Jacobs, CODC Chief Executive.  I relayed that surprise to the journalist who rang the next day.  I was not blissfully unaw...
Read more