Sandra Hazlehurst
Hazlehurst in 2023
22nd Mayor of Hastings
Assumed office
24 November 2017
Preceded byLawrence Yule
Personal details
Born
Sandra Glenis Brannigan

1959 (age 64–65)
Hastings, New Zealand
Spouse
Mark Hazlehurst
​
(m. 1984)​
Children2
EducationHastings Girls' High School

Sandra Glenis Hazlehurst (née Brannigan; born 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the mayor of Hastings since November 2017. She is the first woman to hold the position.

Early life and family

Hazlehurst was born in Hastings in 1959, the daughter of Velma Ada Brannigan (née Warren) and John Brannigan, a carpenter and later baker.[1][2][3] She was educated at Ebbett Park School, Heretaunga Intermediate, and Hastings Girls' High School.[1][3] Growing up, she was actively involved in Girlguiding, and in 1977 she earned the Queen's Guide award.[3]

After her overseas experience, Brannigan returned to New Zealand in 1983, and married Mark Hazlehurst the following year.[3] The couple went on to have two daughters.[3]

In 1986, Hazlehurst and her sister bought a fruit and vegetable shop in central Hastings. She later established Central Building Surveyors with her husband.[1][3]

Political career

Before being elected to the Hastings District Council in 2010, Hazlehurst served as the chair of the Hastings City Business Association for four years.[4] She was elected mayor on 24 November 2017, following the 2017 by-election held after her predecessor, Lawrence Yule, resigned to contest the Tukituki electorate at the 2017 general election. She became the first female mayor of the district.[5]

Hazlehurst served as the mayor of Hastings during the recovery period following Cyclone Gabrielle, where she played a role in overseeing infrastructure rebuilding efforts and addressing housing concerns, including buy-outs.[6]

Under Hazlehurst's council, the Hastings District saw a 77% decline in the number of people in emergency housing between March 2022 and September 2023.[7]

A public disagreement surfaced between Hazlehurst and senior councillor Damon Harvey in late 2023, after Harvey acknowledged the existence of a document related to the council's handling of consenting issues. As a result, Harvey was later removed from his committee chair position by Hazlehurst.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst has a passion for Hastings". Hawke's Bay Today. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Brannigan, Velma Ada death notice 2020". Hawke's Bay Today. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via Knowledge Bank.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "My journey – Sandra Hazlehurst". Hawke's Bay Digital Archives Trust. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Mayor & councillors – Sandra Hazlehurst". Hastings District Council. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Hazlehurst 'incredibly proud' to be district's first female Mayor". Dominion Post. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Cyclone Gabrielle: Hawke's Bay residents slam red zone home buyouts as 'insulting'". Newshub. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Crimp, Lauren (15 November 2023). "Hastings council strategy cuts number in emergency housing by 77 percent". RNZ News. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Sharpe, Marty (30 November 2023). "Councillor who acknowledged existence of secret document stripped of chair position". Stuff. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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