New Gore district councillor Andy Fraser says it is a ‘‘bit of a relief’’ to finally be on the Gore District Council.
The former police officer was sworn on to the council at an extraordinary meeting on Friday.
Cr Fraser said he was grateful to be elected.
‘‘It’s something I’ve actually wanted to get my teeth into for quite a long time.’’
The council had a great group of people who had Gore’s best interests in mind, he said.
Gore District Mayor Ben Bell congratulated Cr Fraser on joining the council.
‘‘It’s nice to feel whole again.’’
Following the resignation of former councillor Bret Highsted in April, a byelection was required to elect a new member for the Gore ward.
It resulted in Cr Fraser being elected.
Now that he was on the council, he said he wanted to secure the district’s future.
‘‘It has to be affordable for people — they pay the rates,’’ he said.
To achieve this he wanted to address the lack of recycling in the district.
‘‘I know the mayor campaigned on it and unfortunately due to the rates rise coming up it’s been put off again.
‘‘It bothers me that in this modern world we’re just not recycling.’’
During his election promotion, Cr Fraser had outlined the need for a review of recycling options.
The past council drama did not worry him and had been blown out of proportion.
‘‘I don’t think it’s confrontational, it’s just working.
‘‘We should be yesterday’s news.
‘‘We should be working behind doors just doing the job.’’
He wanted residents of the Gore district to know he represented their best interests, he said.
