Abraham Larsen

A word of encouragement to anyone talking themselves out of standing for council or the mayoralty this year.

In the last local election in the Whakatāne district, the successful mayoral candidate won with just 34 percent of the votes cast.

And with voter turnout at only 44 percent, that means the mayoralty was won with the support of only 16 percent of eligible voters.

The point is, if you don’t consider yourself a suitable candidate, remember that 84 percent of eligible voters felt the same way about the current mayor.

That’s not a criticism of the current mayor – the past four elections have produced similar results.

If you don’t see yourself as a typical or traditional candidate, you may be exactly the kind of person who could inspire disengaged voters to show up.

Someone relatable. Someone new. So why not have a go?