We’re fast approaching the local body elections and our thoughts are turning to who we want to lead our cities and regions.

At the same time, we’re looking to our own leadership – last week we called for nominations for the board and party president. We’ve got three vacancies on the board and for the first time the president will be elected by all members. Previously this was decided by the board alone and they were chosen by members who could make it to the AGM. So we’ve changed this to allow all members to vote electronically (or via post) giving more people a say on our leadership.

I’m proud to have served on the board and as president while we have taken a hard look at ourselves. We talked to our membership and we reconsidered who we were and who we wanted to be. It’s been tough, but it’s been invaluable and has set us up for the future. We’re ready to grow our membership, reconnect with those we’ve lost and expand to new people. The new board and president will lead us on that journey as well as preparing for next year’s election.

If you’re someone who can spare a few hours a week to help lead the party through the next three years, then please consider putting your name forward. You don’t need to have stood on a board before or be an expert in politics. Just have a passion for what you (and we) believe in and a willingness to lead.

Damian Light, Acting Party President UnitedFuture New Zealand