Srid­har Ekam­baram is an Onslow West­ern can­di­date and gives us his answers, each of which came in under the 25 word lim­it. Check our Elec­tions 2013 sec­tion for all the respons­es as they come in.

  1. What should be the city council’s role in help­ing home­less peo­ple and beg­gars?

Cre­ate jobs so peo­ple don’t have to beg and can afford homes. If they are not suit­able for any jobs, pro­vide them with train­ing.

  1. What would you do to make Welling­ton more cycle and pedes­tri­an friend­ly?

Invest in infra­struc­ture for safe cyling and walk­ing. Pri­vate-pub­lic part­ner­ship is an option.

  1. How do you think traf­fic flow to the hos­pi­tal and air­port should be improved?

Improve pub­lic trans­port with fast, effi­cient and afford­able ser­vice.

  1. What are your views on the sug­ges­tion Welling­ton needs to be “more than just Weta and Gov­ern­ment” – what do you think are Wellington’s strengths?

I agree. Welling­ton has a good uni­ver­si­ty that can dri­ve green tech inno­va­tion and man­u­fac­tur­ing. Just need good R&D cen­tre.

  1. What will YOU do to get more invest­ment, busi­ness­es, and busi­ness con­fi­dence in Welling­ton?

Dis­cuss with the busi­ness own­ers to find prac­ti­cal solu­tions.

  1. What does Welling­ton need more of, and what does Welling­ton need less of?

Needs more green jobs, pub­lic trans­port, walk­ing and cycling. Less of per­son­al car trips.

  1. What would your city coun­cil pro­vide for chil­dren and young peo­ple?

More libraries, recre­ation­al facil­i­ties, youth pro­grams, sci­ence and inno­va­tion com­pe­ti­tions.

  1. What steps would you take to encour­age civic engage­ment?

Spend more time with res­i­dents and con­stituents and work with them, not just work for them.

  1. Tell us about your per­son­al earth­quake plan / What’s unusu­al about your earth­quake kit?

Very impor­tant. Need to make city more resilient. My kit has every­thing required to sur­vive for 3 days.

  1. Why should we vote for you?

I am a fresh face with fresh thoughts and ideas. I work with the com­mu­ni­ty.

  1. Where can we find out more about what you stand for?

www.facebook.com/freshthoughts­for­welling­ton

www.vote.co.nz