Candidates in their own words

21 Sep 2025 • By Supplied

We put these seven questions to Tamahere-Woodlands ward candidates as voting started in the local body elections.

Local Choice

1 – Council work is time consuming – to sitting councillors, how many hours a week do you spend on council duties – to the other three candidates, how many hours would you expect to spend on council work?

2 – Will you vote yes or no to Māori wards?

3 – What is the biggest issue specific to Tamahere you are campaigning on in this election?

4 – How would you rate the collective performance of the elected councillors over this current term out of 10, and why?

5 – In the two-way race for mayor between Jacqui Church and Aksel Bech, who will you vote for?

6 – You have two votes in the Tamahere-Woodlands ward. Apart from yourself, who will you vote for?

7 – How have you promoted yourself during the election campaign to date?

In random name order, here’s how they responded.

See: Waikato candidates – in their own words

See: The friendly five

See: Tamahere-Woodlands fact sheet

Anne Cao-Oulton

Anne Cao-Oulton

1 – There will be no time limit for the council work. If the community needs me, I will be there.

2 – I’m open to Māori wards if they strengthen representation and reflect the community’s wishes.

3 – I have been door-knocking and talking with our community. The biggest issue is the high cost of rates. Next, is core services and then it is resource consents. In the past five years, the New Zealand economy is tough for many. Seniors and pensioners said to me that they do not know how they are going to pay the rates.

4– 3/10. The rates rises have been excessive. The target rate with water and wastewater increased nearly 40 per cent for those households. Core services could have been done better. Residents say there are potholes everywhere; their trickle feed is not enough; their drain is blocked by a dumped washing machine. Resource consent is difficult to obtain and overly time-consuming and expensive, which holds the economy back.

5 Aksel Bech has a great experience with council and business. I am in line with him.

6 Mike Keir is working for ratepayers and not kowtowing to what the council think is best! He has valuable experience in infrastructure, which is being ignored by council.

7 – Posters, flyers, social media and door-knocking.

Mark Manson

Mark Manson

1 – Potentially being new to the council I recognise there is significant information and details that need to be understood. I am prepared to spend whatever hours are required to ensure that I serve the community to the best of my abilities.

2 – I believe in democracy, one person – one vote. I am against separatism and apartheid and as Maōri have the same opportunity for representation as all New Zealanders, I will be voting no.

3 -Financial accountability and responsibility within council. There have been a number of projects in Tamahere, notably Birchwood Lane ‘traffic calming’ and the original layout of the Tamahere car park, that have been an absolute waste of ratepayers (your) money; what repercussions have there been? I believe there should be open accountability of all projects and an audit trail of expenditure against budget.

4 – Rating 4 – although the rates increase in the current year has some semblance of control, during the last 3 years the increases have been excessive. Additionally, a number of projects, in the local area, have been mismanaged, without apparent repercussions, at significant cost; this is waste. Further, the consenting process is an abomination.

5 – Did not say

6 – I do not wish to endorse any candidate at this stage. It may be detrimental to their campaign.

7 – Very minimal exposure to date. I have only attended the meet the candidate meetings in the Tamahere – Woodlands Ward

Crystal Beavis

Crystal Beavis – 2025

1 – For me it’s more than a full-time job when you add up the hours spent reading and considering papers, attending council meetings and hearings, preparing reports on council matters of interest to local committees and local news outlets, attending meetings in seven local communities in the evenings, being available for constituents and groups to hear their ideas and concerns and interacting with staff to help resolve constituent issues.

2 – Yes, because so many Maaori voters have registered on the Maaori roll making it democratically clear they want to vote for someone they believe can best represent them. Established via a widely-consultative representation review in 2021, the two Maaori wards serve a population of 15,140. Waikato district is 26% Maaori. Two Maaori seats out of 14 help bring a Maaori voice and representative diversity of thinking into the council chamber.

3 – To advance and find means to fulfil the aspirations expressed by local communities in their own community plans and blueprints. To do that we must manage core services and infrastructure development efficiently, as planned, to “lock in” a budgeted reduction in general rates rises to 3% and below, starting next year, as laid out in the Long Term Plan 2025-34.

4 – Probably 8/10 in reading council papers, constructively debating the issues, establishing new roading contracts, constraining rates rises compared with other councils, maintaining an AA+ credit rating, and being first to establish a council-owned waters company with Hamilton City. Maybe 7/10 in being confidently on top of all the issues (9 out of 14 councillors were new in 2022) but worked hard to be so.

5 – I’m still considering the option. Jacqui Church has worked for an inclusive council, creating new opportunities for community boards/committees, rural interests and iwi voices to contribute and be heard. I don’t have close first-hand experience of Aksel Bech in action, but he has a widely-respected voice as my predecessor in the old Tamahere Ward and as a former deputy mayor for the district. Each bring different attributes to the position.

6 – Like me, Mike Keir brings the experience of a sitting Councillor, and he’s passionate about the Ward. He brings engineering knowledge to the table. I believe he’d like to be a “disruptive innovator”. We don’t always agree on everything but we’ve worked well together. I rate Peter Mayall for his background skills and demeanor so far, but don’t believe ACT or national political views are helpful for local government decision-making.

7 – As someone with the experience, energy and commitment required – to continue to ensure the communities I represent are informed and engaged with the work of council, and to ensure council decisions are well-researched and democratically driven. I have 12 years’ experience in public sector governance, and many more in business. I’ve developed a respected voice on council; an important attribute for achieving good outcomes.

Mike Keir

Mike Keir – 2025

1 – Probably around 1.5 to 2 days a week of meetings average, along with another at least 1 to 1.5 days of reading materials, reports and emails trails and another 0.5 to 1 day of community meetings which are usually in the evening and sometimes going to meet residents and ratepayers to discuss problems and issues. So in total between 3 and 5 days a week, however this is spread over weekends, evenings and during the week.

2 – Yes, they are democratic in that Maori only get one vote and their voice should be heard on council as per article two of the treaty.

3 – Management of growth which includes consenting and zoning regulations.

4 – 2.5. They have not been prepared to tackle the big issues like wage growth and inefficiency. WDC submissions on Resource Management and Local Government reform have been weak. Processes have been poor including the LTP and salary setting for the new CEO. Management accountability has been poor around wastage and bad decision making. The executive leadership team have been left to manage the council unchecked.

5 – Aksel Bech – He is strategic and is prepared to tackle the hard issues. Our current Mayor is a figure head who has allowed the executive to manage unchecked.

6 – Anne Cao-Oulton. She is aligned with our strategy direction for WDC. Crystal Beavis has been an excellent ward councillor but supports the status quo in terms of current management and practice.

7 – Some signage. But mostly DM and letter drops outlining my issues and concerns and advocating for change.

Peter Mayall

Peter Mayall – 2025

1 – It’s not about hours spent, but value delivered. My background reviewing complex financial and policy information means I can quickly analyse issues and identify key priorities. As a business owner, I have the flexibility to dedicate necessary time to council duties while meeting family and community obligations. I’ll bring efficiency and focus to deliver better outcomes for ratepayers.

2 – I will vote no to Māori wards. Council represents all ratepayers delivering services and infrastructure. Dividing communities by ethnicity doesn’t improve outcomes. We must value and listen to everyone equally.

3 – Value for money and genuine consultation. Too often Tamahere suffers from “council knows best” decisions – chicanes, anti-car measures, dog restrictions. Our community is busy living productive lives, not monitoring every council move. I’ll serve the silent majority by eliminating waste, improving efficiency, and ensuring proper consultation before decisions affecting our community are made.

4 – We have quality people serving, but change is needed. Working hard isn’t enough – we need smarter governance and protected democracy. CCOs like IAWAI Ltd represent expensive co-governance models that prioritise ideology over efficient service delivery. This “Treaty gravy train” approach wastes ratepayer money. I rate current performance 6.5/10 – good intentions, poor execution on fiscal responsibility.

5 – I’ll support whoever focuses on core services, lower costs, appropriate staffing levels, and genuine community consultation. Ratepayers want democracy, not co-governance or unelected voting rights. The successful candidate must listen to all residents and deliver transparent, accountable governance. Once elected, I’ll hold the mayor accountable to these expectations regardless of who wins.

6 – I’m voting only for myself – imagine losing by one vote! I’ll work constructively with whoever else is elected, focusing on the same qualities I outlined for mayor: fiscal responsibility, transparency, and genuine democratic representation.

7 – I’ve issued press releases about costly IAWAI Ltd failures, personally delivered flyers throughout Tamahere-Woodlands while talking with locals, posted regularly on Facebook, and dealt with nightly vandalism of my electoral signs in Matangi. Despite these challenges, I’m committed to reaching every voter with my message: our communities deserve better representation and fiscal responsibility.