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 the response from Mal­colm Spar­row, can­di­date for North­ern Ward.

1. What should be the city council’s role in help­ing home­less peo­ple and beg­gars?
Work with com­mu­ni­ty groups like DCM as well as cen­tral gov­ern­ment to ensure prac­ti­cal help is avail­able.

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

Look at the prac­ti­cal­i­ty of cycle lanes, more shared path­ways like the Tawa Val­ley Path­way, and pos­si­bly some car-free zones.

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

Progress needs to be made on both the fly­over and the sec­ond Mt Vic tun­nel, as well as ensur­ing effi­cient pub­lic trans­port options.

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?

We know we’re already more than that.  We have many well-edu­cat­ed and inno­v­a­tive peo­ple — make the most of what they have to offer.

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

Push for more con­sul­ta­tion with the busi­ness com­mu­ni­ty and push for greater pro­mo­tion of Welling­ton domes­ti­cal­ly and inter­na­tion­al­ly.

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

It needs more employ­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties so peo­ple don’t have to look else­where for work.  We need less dither­ing when it comes to get­ting things done.

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

A cou­ple of arti­fi­cial turfs in the north­ern sub­urbs, anoth­er skate­board park or two, and an oppor­tu­ni­ty for more input from the Youth Coun­cil.

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

Encour­age more com­mu­ni­ty input into local projects.  Liaise more close­ly with schools.

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

Fair­ly stan­dard kit but I recent­ly pur­chased a 200 litre water tank which is now filled and teth­ered to a (hope­ful­ly) stur­dy tree.

10. Why should we vote for you?

I have a track record of work­ing hard in my com­mu­ni­ty and would like the oppor­tu­ni­ty of work­ing sim­i­lar­ly for my ward and city.

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

www.malcolmsparrow.com