We’ve pro­vid­ed a set of ques­tions for the may­oral and coun­cil­lor can­di­dates to answer. First 25 words to an answer get post­ed. Check our 2013 Elec­tion cov­er­age for all respons­es as they come in.

Here is Nico­la Young, WCC can­di­date for Lambton Ward and the May­oral­ty.

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

Work with exist­ing organ­i­sa­tions eg: Welling­ton Home­less­ness Women’s Trust. Don’t waste mon­ey on fol­lies (‘Alter­na­tive Giv­ing’). Under­stand some peo­ple don’t want to be housed.

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

Need one cross-town route where cyclists have pri­or­i­ty, more bike racks, and greater use of street furniture/planters in Gold­en Mile to sep­a­rate traf­fic from…

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

Planned infra­struc­ture upgrades will help (fly­over & sec­ond Mt Vic­to­ria tun­nel); plus pri­or­i­ty bus and cycle lanes.

4.      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?

More to Welling­ton already! Brainy cit­i­zens — ICT and cre­ative sec­tors. Smart pub­lic ser­vants. Com­pact topog­ra­phy. True urban liv­ing. Local quirk­i­ness.

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

Reduce red-tape and increase trans­paren­cy; rates that are val­ue-for-mon­ey. Encour­age incu­ba­tion of small busi­ness­es. WCC to adopt ‘can do’ atti­tude. Effi­cient…

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

More fun; less black cloth­ing, less gloom. Bring back Cuba Street Car­ni­val. I have ideas for oth­er com­mu­ni­ty events with international/tourism poten­tial. Encour­age the…

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

Cur­rent facil­i­ties are good. Main­tain library ser­vices and need more sports fields with arti­fi­cial turf. Improved pub­lic trans­port.

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

Encour­age pub­lic events. Build on city’s cap­i­tal sta­tus to raise aware­ness, with focus on polit­i­cal his­to­ry and its importance/relevance to our lives. Tourism poten­tial…

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

Check on my neigh­bours. /Sachets of Indi­an food (also used for cater­ing on annu­al tramps with a veg­e­tar­i­an friend), bot­tle of scent and face-cream.

10.   Why should we vote for you?

Com­mon­sense, new ideas, high ener­gy, hard-work­ing, gets things done, busi­ness per­spec­tive, inter­na­tion­al expe­ri­ence; born ‘n bred local, inter­est­ed in arts; not a time-serv­er.

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

www.nicolayoung.co.nz (basic web­site, but I built it); www.facebook.com/NicolaYoungForWellingtonMayor; or call me on 021 654 844