Fountain of Birds in the Te Awamutu Rose Gardens.
I love Te Awamutu and genuinely believe that it is not only one of the best places in the world, but that it is inhabited by some of the most incredible people in the world.
Karla Rose
Which is why I have to admit to being saddened when I read in the July 24 edition of the Te Awamutu News the experience of our mayor Susan O’Regan.
Mayor O’Regan has been in office for the past three years and is a Waipā local. While leadership inevitably comes with differing opinions, it is important to reflect on what has been accomplished.
In O’Regan’s term as the Mayor of the Waipā she became the first female mayor in our district, she has connected with local community groups, worked alongside the council to make collaborative decisions to support the growth and improvement of the Waipā, and invested heavily into Ahu-Ake (Waipa Community Spatial Plan), receiving a national award for the work done by herself and her team.
So, to hear that Mayor O’Regan had received abuse, threats and feared for the safety of her family was disheartening. The Waipa I love has a heart for all its people, including those whose opinions vary from our own.
Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan speaks with residents in Rukuhia about the draft spatial plan.
As I considered Mayor O’Regan, her stewardship of our town, and her care for the wider Waipa area, I was drawn to 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, which reminded me to acknowledge the people who work hard, hold them in high regard, live in peace, be patient with everyone and not pay back wrong for wrong.
Whether Mayor O’Regan is elected for another three-year term leading the Waipa, or one of the other mayoral candidates is elected to represent us, I believe it is important for the residents of the Waipa, and in particular Te Awamutu, to consider how we treat the people who lead us.
Are we acknowledging the work that they do? Do we hold them in high regard? Are we peaceful and patient, even when things aren’t going the way we’d hope? Or are we repaying wrong for wrong?
The next thing we have to ask ourselves is, if we are not a community that provides safety to our leaders and their families, how can we expect to provide a safe environment for the most vulnerable in our community? If we aren’t respectful and patient, how can we expect to attract or retain leaders who lead well and have a heart to see our community flourish and prosper?
Voting for the future mayor of the Waipa is important, but equally important is, as stated in Hebrews 13:17, having confidence in those leaders and submitting to their authority. Because ultimately they are the ones who will be called to account for what they have and have not done.
And if we, as the people they represent, can be a joy rather than a burden, then we can avoid adding to the load of our leaders and instead allow them to focus on the things that really matter.
Let’s be a community that fosters courage, respect, and vision in its leaders, because when we lift up those who serve, we lift the whole of Waipā.
