When asked, who is driving the woke agenda within the council, he replied, “A group of seven who are working together: Deb Harding, Scott McKenzie, Nicholas Connop, Patrick Holmes, Phoenix Ruka, Carol Peters, and Ken Couper…Because we have that woke block at the top, every time it gets hard, they take the soft option.”
“The message from our community is
clear: rate increases must be affordable, fair and justifiable.”
This certainly is the message the community is giving and has been giving for some time. The difficulty we have is reconciling Ken’s words with his voting record. In 2024 Ken voted for a 10.9% rate increase and another 17.2% increase in 2025. This is despite 87% of the public who submitted to the 2025 Annual Plan opposing the increase. Most suggested 6% was affordable, fair, and justifiable.
“As the 2023–2024 financial year drew to a close,
unallocated funds across the Māori Outcomes and Te Kārearea cost centres was
identified. To ensure this funding was not lost, and in acknowledgement of the
longstanding calls from hapū for this work, Māori Outcomes initiated the
audit.” (Page 26.)
In response to an Official Information request, the WDC has advised $77,293 has been spent on the audit to date, and confirmed the spending was done without obtaining the approval of councillors.
In the Whangarei Central constituency, veteran greenie Jack Craw is being challenged by Caroline Davis who is bringing fresh ideas and energy to the council. Caroline has served as an ambulance Paramedic and currently chairs the Whangarei Area Committee of St John's. She is an active member of the Ocean Beach Surf Life Saving Club.
Eleven of the 14 elected representatives on the WDC are seeking re-election. We are astounded by the disconnect between the election promises being made by some candidates and their voting record. Actions speak louder than election waffle, so LETTERBOX has tabulated the way the mayor and councillors have voted on critical decisions.