Zone 1 chair/Mayor, Whangarei District Council

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Vince Cocurullo

“My passion is to see that the local community is properly looked after.”

Vince Cocurullo got into politics because he wanted to ensure local people had a voice. He is a cheerleader for smaller districts and wants to see more emphasis on keeping them connected.

He is also an unashamed cheerleader of his rohe which he describes as a generous district of hard-working, straight shooting, down-to-earth ‘family’. But he is not a fan of red tape and believes a focus on ‘enablers’ would bring better outcomes for everyone. Vince is a firm believer that local government has more influence and touches more people in their everyday life than central government.

Vince loves seeing projects through to completion, and meeting all the people involved. As mayor, he connects groups of people to help solve problems. He says that having a team of nearly 400 people, who are all professional and able to help meet the needs of the people in his community, is a great feeling.

Working in technology running a small IT business has kept him on his toes and forced him to stay agile, helpful qualities for an elected member. He believes success takes passion, being prepared to listen, the ability to work through complexity and the courage to take action.