Who is Elvisa?

AI had suggested a whole blog post about who I am based on the fact that this is a local government campaign website, but a lot of it sounded like AI vomit and having been through University without chatGPT, here I am writing from the heart and with a real human brain.

So yeah, I grew up in Tokoroa having attended Amisfield primary, Tokoroa Intermediate and Tokoroa High School. My dad has been the greenkeeper of the Tokoroa Golf Course of 40 years and my mum is an OG Tokoroa Filipina and has worked at Balmoral Kindy for 20 years. My brother works at the mill - a respected union delegate - and while I left the district for 15 years, he fulfilled his goals of getting a job at the mill and purchasing his first home at 19 years old. Helps to have an older sibling you can watch rack up student loan debt only to not get a decent job straight away! I share this background because I've been away for so long and having returned and jumping straight in to volunteering within the community, I hope this provides solace for anyone else who might be confused by my enthusiastic community involvement. I also appreciate the admin of the Tokoroa Social Page on facebook who helped soften the skepticism by placing me in the community through my family and historical context. I am aware that I won't make everyone happy and there will always be skeptical and negative people.

What did I do for 15 years? Well, I had no idea at the time, but I was basically learning, growing and developing relationships across the country. I completed a Media Studies degree at Victoria University in Wellington, a Certificate in Drama at Excel School of Performing Arts in Auckland and Diploma in Marine Science at Toi Ohomai in Tauranga. After my 6 years of study, I moved to Taranaki for the lifestyle, recognizing early that Tauranga was becoming an appendage of Auckland. After a few years of volunteering in conservation while working hospo, retail and glasshouse jobs, I finally got my foot in the door with Department of Conservation in Taranaki as a freshwater biosecurity advocate encouraging people to CHECK-CLEAN-DRY between waterways. After doing that for a summer, I asked to be kept on as a casual ranger to fill in wherever I was needed. I was a casual ranger for 4 years supplementing my income with contracts in environmental education - teaching kids and the wider community how to snorkel, how to trap rats and possums and all about the elusive little blue penguins / kororā that live all the way along the north island coastline. I never would have thought that all my random qualifications would come together so perfectly in environmental education!

While I worked for DOC, I was a PSA union member and attended a PSA Youth conference in Wellington in 2019 to learn more about our benefits and how to be more active in the union space. One of the workshops at this conference was on local government elections and encouraged our young membership to consider standing for local government - remember the term "youthquake?". I was very curious and subsequently inspired. Chloe Swarbrick was a List MP at the time and the keynote speaker of the event. I've always been that kid in class who always had their hand up asking questions (ask anyone in Tok who was in my maths classes). I really wanted an excuse to connect with Chloe so during question time, I put my hand up and asked her the question "What advice would you give to a young environmentalist looking to stand for local government in an oil and gas region?" All I remember is her saying "I will come and support them". After being encouraged by my fellow union members, I decided to stand for Taranaki Regional Council. The 2019 Campaign season had already kicked off, but Chloe lived up to her word and supported me at two public engagement events in New Plymouth, connecting with local voters who wanted to learn more about how they could make better informed voting decisions... and probably wanted to meet Aotearoa New Zealand's youngest MP at the time, just like I did - but I may have taken it a bit too far.

Election day came around and after much anticipation, I was elected on to the TRC taking the 5th out of 5 seats for New Plymouth. As I continued working in environmental education throughout my term, I was told by parents of former students that their kids had seen my hoardings (signs) and told them "That lady taught us about penguins and how to look after nature" - an unexpected benefit to my campaign. While I learned so much and was challenged in many ways on the TRC, I am grateful to have been able to bring positive outcomes such as supporting Iwi representatives on committees, voting for a Māori ward on council, and asking technical questions to the officers and managers who presented to council. As you'll see in the photo below, I stuck out like a sore thumb. A stark reminder of why representation matters.

While it took a little bit of settling into the role, I genuinely enjoyed my time on the TRC and despite our differences, I maintained positive working relationships with my councilor colleagues. In the final year of my term (2022) I fell pregnant with my first child but worked and campaigned right through - election day was 2 weeks before I gave birth. I did not get re-elected, just missing out on the 5th seat to a former mayor, but it was blessing in disguise as I was naive to how hard the portal to motherhood was about to kick my butt.

Missing out on elections, having a baby and our 2 bedroom unit rent going up $100 a week prompted my husband and I to re-evaluation our situation and after almost 7 years in New Plymouth, we decided to move closer to family in the Waikato. We stayed with my in-laws in the Coromandel for 6 months while we searched for a house to buy and it only made sense to buy in Tokoroa with my family here and the house prices a 3rd of what you'd pay for the same thing elsewhere. We made the big move home in 2023 where I gave birth to my second baby. As my husband is from Taupō, we've loved being so close to whānau and have made the most of seeing friends, family and getting involved in the community. Mum dropping off kai regularly has been pretty awesome too.

When I volunteer to help groups, whether it's in conservation, the arts or in governance, I always remember it's not about me. It's about utilizing my skills and experience to top up what's already being done for the community. Nothing changes if nothing changes. That's why I'm standing for South Waikato District Council - to offer relevant experience, knowledge, relationships and creative thinking to the community. All I can do is be genuine, not make promises I know I can't keep and ensure people feel heard and fairly represented at the decision-making table.