Between them, they have seven children all under eight, including a set of twins. But three mums have decided juggling work and home life isn’t enough – they also want to run for council.
Nicola Young is standing for a seat on the Wanganui District Council. Iona Pannett is campaigning for her third term on the Wellington City Council, and Sara Templeton is after a seat on the Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board in Christchurch, one of the most quake-affected areas in the city.
Nicola (40) says she’s always wanted to stand for council.
“When I told my friends I was going to do it, they said, ‘It’s about time!’”
Campaigning is a daunting prospect for Riley and Mitchell’s mum, Nicola.
But when she decided 2013 was the year, she worried about being the only candidate still dropping her kids at kindy each morning.
“It’s still a bit unusual to be a mum of young children, looking for this kind of role.”
However, it was a chance meeting at a conference in Christchurch that put her in touch with two other women in exactly the same position.
Nominations don’t open until July 26, but the three women have been emailing and chatting regularly on Facebook in recent months, trading tips on how to juggle raising kids with paid and volunteer work, campaigning for votes – and also finding time for their other halves.
Iona finds it difficult being away from Amelie and Oliver.
Both of Iona’s kids, Oliver (4) and Amelie (22 months), were born while she was on council. She says it has been a very supportive environment, but can understand why other mums might worry.
Being a councillor mum is still not easy. Often Iona’s required to be somewhere, just when she’d most like to be home, putting her kids to bed.
“I found my colleagues fantastic, but it’s an extremely difficult job. A lot of work is in the evenings and on weekends. Balancing it all is tricky.”
Nicola says it’s likely she’ll have to rely on her parents, who live nearby, to help out with Mitchell (4) and Riley (2). She also plans to continue her part-time work for engineering consultancy company AECOM throughout the campaign, and if she makes it into council.
Sara’s clan includes daughter Caitlin and twins David and Jack.
“I think I’ll be busy, but I like being busy.”
After five years in Perth, Nicola has only been back in Wanganui for 18 months, so the idea of getting out to meet the thousands of people she’ll need to vote for her is a bit daunting. The first candidate who missed out in the city’s last election pulled in 6500 votes.
“That’s a lot of strangers who have to vote for you. I’m trying hard to raise my profile and meet more people.”
Sometimes, she takes her kids out with her. An initiative Nicola developed encouraged people to donate excess fruit from their trees to the local food bank.
“Lots of the neighbours have fruit trees and the fruit is falling to the ground. The kids have a lovely time collecting apples and feijoas.”
The trio have bonded together and are keen to learn from each other’s experiences.
Iona (39) says she’s offered the others a few tips on getting elected, and is keen for them to learn from her mistakes. In her first campaign, where she missed out on a seat, she underspent and lost by fewer than 100 votes. She’s told Sara and Nicola not to be nervous about doing as much as they can to get their names known.
“It’s nice to have someone in the same boat to share experiences with,” Iona says.
All three are interested in environmental issues, and Nicola says they also swap ideas.
“We’re trying to find ways to do things that help people.”
Sara’s kids are twins Jack and David (6) and eight-year-old Caitlin. “I had three under two for a while,” she says. They’re too young to understand exactly what’s going on, but they’re used to Mum being busy. Before the Canterbury earthquake, Sara (41) owned an eco-friendly baby wipes business.She says the three women will continue to keep in touch online, sending supportive emails and posting comments when the going gets tough.
“We’ve got a lot of learning to do. It’s useful to have someone going through the same thing. Our friends aren’t doing it, so it’s hard for them to understand.”
Susan Edmunds.
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