And They Say Women Have Equality

It has been so interesting to watch how the local newspaper the Wairarapa Times Age has played out the Mayoral challenge to date.  Bearing in mind one of the candidates works there as a sports reporter.

Last week the Mayoral candidates for Masterton and the candidates for the rural, at large and urban candidates, were asked to respond to three questions and their responses limited to 100 words would be published for the benefit of the voting public. The incumbent Mayor wrote his response which appeared to have been published without editing as it was 104 words, the other male standing for mayoral election and as I said an employee of the paper had nearly his full quota printed. But then we came to the only female candidate who supplied 100 words to the paper but after their editing had only 54 words printed and whats more was the last candidate of the three to be printed, so her response was buried in the page of printing. And they say this is an unbiased approach to reporting!!!

What is more sickening is the next day the editor printed a full column of challenges to all candidates standing for council, to send in their views and they would be published. So as a good keen marketing woman she did just that, reported her views on the sudden announcement by Air New Zealand to withdraw our Masterton to Auckland daily service in February. Did it get printed?  Did it hell. 

 As the only woman standing for Masterton Trust Lands Trust I sent in a letter to the editor on the same subject. To date my letters and media releases have always been used, however, it seems I may be in for the same treatment as my letter has failed to make the paper.   There has been times when they have contacted me for comment as they are needing editorial and a few times I have given them a lead but suddenly it seems my popularity has taken a nose dive.  I wonder if they think I am supporting the female candidate??  Are they threatened by women candidates or just part of the "old boys club" pulling together.

I did get a bit of plug this week when all candidates were invited to join a lunchtime ukelele concert as part of Adult Learners Week.

Ukelele Orchestra for Adult Learners Week

Local Elections - How Interesting

Well it has now been two weeks since I registered to stand in the local elections and it is very new experience.

Try writing about yourself. It is not nearly as easy as you imagine, you need to sell yourself as worthy of the voters vote and yet not sound like you think yourself superior.   You need to talk about your experience but not sound like you are belittling other people standing or re-standing.

You need to have your photo taken as a bad photo is not going to attract attention   - a problem if like me you are not photogenic. I have seen more terrible photos of me in the local paper than I care to admit.  Several chins, squinty eyes, red cheeks, twice my normal body size depicted, I have experienced them all and the photographer always tells me it is the wide angle lens. I say then use a normal lens that makes me tall and thin, let the camera lie I don't mind I just hate the wide angle lens.

I have started a facebook page and had flyers printed, billboards printed and erected, flyers delivered and started attending events and activities that attract plenty of people so I can approach them with my flyer and introduce myself.  

Facebook Page

I am happy with the photo but seeing yourself up on a billboard looking down is a bit weird.

It is quite sad that so few women in Masterton have chosen to put themselves forward.  We had four women on the district council, two have chosen to retire so are not restanding and no new women have come forward.  So assuming the two restanding get re-elected we will only have two women to represent 50% of the community, against nine men elected to make up the total council of eleven.
It puts enormous pressure on those two women to try and represent views of women and to also be representing the public at large. And they say women in NZ were the first in the world to have the vote - what happened?
One of those women is also be really gutsy and standing for Mayor. If successful she will be the first female Mayor of Masterton  - she has my vote, not only because she is a woman but because she is the hardest working current councillor and a person with passion for life and a social conscience.


There are three other women standing for election to local trusts, me included in that number but that will not effect our day to day lives as much as few women on the district council.  I started with a local trust as I thought it was a good place to learn the business of politics, the business of governance at a higher level and the most critical aspect which is consultation.

Listen to this youtube it is so inspiring.  Maybe you will stand next time, you have three years to plan for it.

Alice Walker on Democratic Womanism