Karen Morgan and Brady Dyer will be running for the Lower Hutt mayoralty. Photo: SUPPLIED
Lower Hutt is set to get a new mayor following this year's local body election, with two councillors throwing their hats in the ring for the role.
Last week Campbell Barry, who has held the mayoralty for two terms, announced he would not be seeking re-election.
That decision meant there was no incumbent for the job at a time of major change for the city with work on Riverlink, the Petone to Grenada Link Road and the Wellington to Lower Hutt pathway and sea wall Te Ara Tupua underway.
RNZ spoke to Brady Dyer and Karen Morgan who will be running for the mayoralty this year.
Brady Dyer
Brady Dyer has been running businesses in the Wellington region since 2005 when he turned his high school project into a photography business - Brady Dyer Photography.
Dyer also started other companies such as a Firefly Cinemas, a company which provided the technology to create relocatable drive-in movie theatres, which he has since sold.
He spent six years at Hutt City Council and three years on the Petone community board.
Dyer told RNZ his main pillar for standing was to deliver Riverlink.
"It's a once in a generation opportunity to reimagine our city, at the core of it it's about flood protection that's what the project is about but on the side of that we have a really amazing opportunity to reimagine our CBD."
The RiverLink project would include a bridge across the Hutt River, with the aim of improving traffic congestion in Lower Hutt City, and improving resilience. Photo: Supplied/ RiverLink partners
He said the biggest challenge for people was rates affordability.
"One of the first things I'll be doing if I become mayor is pushing for a full review of our financial plans so that I can put my hand on my heart and say with absolute certainty that we are delivering value for money."
Building community trust in council's consultation process and boosting businesses was a priority for him, Dyer said.
Karen Morgan
Karen Morgan has worked in the education sector for over 30 years and was principal of Taita College for seven years.
Morgan told RNZ that experience meant that she had run a medium sized business managing sixty people.
She also had been a councillor for the past three years.
Morgan told RNZ improved social cohesion would be a critical policy for her campaign particularly in light of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had.
"We have so many great people doing wonderful things in our city and across our city, so you know we need to value them, we need to better connect with them."
She said her other policies would be to create inclusive leadership by promoting voices in diverse communities and to support businesses.
Morgan said projects such as Riverlink provided an opportunity to create jobs for local people.
The public will cast their votes on 11 October.
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