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’s Sarah Free for the East­ern Ward. Keep read­ing →

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

Part­ner with City Mis­sion, Night Shel­ter, drug/alcohol and oth­er agen­cies to find hous­ing solu­tions and sup­port. Recog­nise some issues are not eas­i­ly solved.

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

 “Cycling cor­ri­dors” on select­ed roads- cars dis­cour­aged, cyclists have pri­or­i­ty. More bud­get for cycle routes on main roads. Safer pedes­tri­an cross­ings. Fix street light­ing.

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

Short-term: bus-pri­or­i­ty lanes, cheap­er bus fares, safer walk­ing and cycling. Fre­quent, afford­able air­port bus to reduce taxis. Long-term: wait­ing on out­comes for...

  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?

Stim­u­lat­ing envi­ron­ment, cre­ative cul­ture, great food and amaz­ing peo­ple- Build on strengths in IT, edu­ca­tion, food and bev­er­ages, tourism; grow a niche man­u­fac­tur­ing base.

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

Attend local busi­ness meet­ings, lis­ten, com­mu­ni­cate, stream­line red tape for busi­ness­es. Ensure infra­struc­ture upgrades meet require­ments, assist with net­work­ing and pro­mo­tion. Advo­cate local pur­chas­ing.

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

More thriv­ing busi­ness­es in emp­ty sub­ur­ban shops, more niche man­u­fac­tur­ing, more cycle-ways and walk­ways, more rea­sons for tourists ( Luge? Short-stay car­a­van park?) Less …

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

Cheap­er bus fares for youth/families. Free libraries, play­grounds  and stuff to do. Clean beach­es and nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment. Oppor­tu­ni­ties for youth to show­case tal­ent.

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

Keep com­mu­ni­ties informed. Make meet­ing min­utes eas­i­er to find online.  Pro­mote Loomio and online feed­back.  Invite rep­re­sen­ta­tive com­mu­ni­ty groups to attend select­ed coun­cil forums.

9.    Tell us about your per­son­al earth­quake plan / What’s unusu­al about your earth­quake kit? Plan: We all get home somehow…then check on neigh­bours. Earth­quake kit has water, food — the usu­al things. Most unusu­al thing- chook food!

10.   Why should we vote for you?

I do my home­work, and get things done. Sound judge­ment. Life expe­ri­ence. Per­son­al skills. For fresh, pos­i­tive, pro-active ener­gy, please con­sid­er vot­ing me “1”

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

Web: www.sarahfree.org.nz or www.vote.co.nz

Face­book: https://www.facebook.com/Vote­Sarah­FreeForE­ast­ern­Ward?ref=hl

Twit­ter: @sarahfreenz