Like Geoffrey this time, Margaret is running for a seat on the Waikanae Community Board, which she also did in 2016.

She says: “I was born in Central Wellington and throughout a grandparental upbringing enjoyed freedom to voice opinions within a mutual understanding that opinions voiced had to have a basis in substance rather than speculation and carried with them accountability.

“My family has had a presence on the Kapiti Coast since the 1930s. I recall many a school holiday perched high in a pine tree endlessly sketching Kapiti Island or sitting in the dampest part of my uncle’s boat as we traced the coastline and circled the Island.

“I have lived in Waikanae for six years – drawn by the richness of cultural history, talented artisans and bird rich land and seascapes.

“Recreation-wise, I am a former competitive pistol shooter and currently poised to dust off my croquet mallet and rediscover the joys of golf croquet.  I enjoy playing a lively game of 500 with a skilled group of locals among whom I am the novice.

“As an active environmentalist and a lifelong ‘four legs and a heartbeat person’ – I am actively committed to the welfare of sentient creatures.

“While living in Northern Germany I worked for four years on a U.S. Special Forces base (Army, Airforce, Navy and Marines) where I held the liaison role with the local city leaders in a place the size of Wellington. I then spent two years in the United States within the management team of a War Veterans Hospital.

“These early roles and latter senior roles within Central Government Agencies and the Tertiary Sector, honed my commitment to consultation, collaboration, advocacy and evidence-based decision making — attributes critical to those privileged to be elected to Community Boards and to participatory decision making.”