“Hastings is my home – I’m ready to fight for its future” is the message from the newest candidate to announce their run for council.

“It’s time to put my love and pride in our city, community and region into action with energy, open eyes, a sense of justice, prudence, and the enthusiasm to learn and lead” says Yvonne Lorkin, entering this election with entrepreneurial strength having been self-employed since her early 20’s. “Currently I’m the wine editor for dish Magazine and co-founder of WineFriend, a Deloitte Fast50 company, however with community at my core, I also chair the Rose Gold Trust, Hawke’s Bay’s newest women’s health charity, and volunteer on the board of Screen HB, our regional film office. I serve as a volunteer member of the Emergency Response Team for Civil Defence and volunteer for Hato Hone St John Therapy Pets at Cranford Hospice”.

She feels the time is right for her to enter local politics. “As a parent, a business owner, a homeowner and a champion for our commercial and creative communities, I get things done and I bring real-world, real-life experience” she adds. “I’ll be your eyes, ears and energy in Council” is her message to voters.

Born in Waipukurau, Yvonne spent her childhood in Takapau and her teen years in Hastings. “We lived on Sylvan Road, and I biked to and from Hastings Intermediate and Hastings Girls High School, enjoying the smell of Wattie’s making tomato sauce and Leopard Brewery mashing grains and boiling hops” she laughs. After university and a stint working in music media in Auckland she returned, married a boy from Caroline Place and their children attended Camberley and Raureka Kindy’s and Raureka Primary (where she served on the Board of Trustees), then she cheered them through HGHS and Lindisfarne. Today she and her husband Greg live in Mahora, having bought a house built by her great-great uncle Bill Halstead back in 1922.

As for her action points? “Seeking innovative, effective, sustainable and fiscally disciplined ways for our Council to address Hastings’ rising debt while curbing the ratepayer burden is a top priority. That, alongside safer, healthier, happier communities and our district becoming a better place to do business, is what I want to see”.