Peter Pinkham wants to see a more transparent council and the relocation of ‘The Vibe’ if he is to become Thames-Coromandel’s next mayor.
The Waikato born-and-raised candidate is one of seven to run for the district’s top job in these local body elections.
“I would like to see the main shopping areas in the Coromandel be called ‘pedestrian and parking friendly zones’ – where people in cars are restricted to a 30kmh speed limit, and people crossing the street and people parking are given priority,” he told The Profile.
“I also think that the Vibe has to be moved in Thames – the idea of separating the two main shopping areas, as well as blocking a part of the roundabout is both ridiculous and inconvenient for visitors and locals.”
After studying business at Victoria University of Wellington, Peter travelled and hitchhiked around New Zealand and the world for five years, in effect “circling the globe”.
“I was lucky enough to meet lots of amazing people, see wonderful places and be exposed to different lifestyles,” he said. He then trained as a psychiatric nurse at Kingseat and Sunnyside Hospitals while studying psychology. After working as a nurse therapist in Palmerston North, he purchased a half-share in a furniture manufacturing business in Wellington, where he married and had two sons.
“After my first son was born, I took six months off to be a house-husband and during that time I bought a computer and taught myself to program,” he said.
He eventually moved to Whangaroa, in the Far North, to be the manager of the local hospital and GP practice.
For around seven years, he was a paddler in the waka (Ngā Toki Matawhaorua) at Waitangi.Other jobs around the country included working in real estate, and as a consultant business analyst for a recycling company. For four years, Peter also volunteered at Lifeline as a telephone counsellor.
“Then, six years ago I moved to Thames while still working two days a week in Auckland. I purchased the used bookshop in Thames which was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing,” he said. “After I expanded that, I opened an art gallery for 18 months as well.”
Peter said that while he grew the book and jigsaw business, he became more involved with life in Thames and the wider Coromandel.
So why run for mayor? “The role interests me,” he said. “I feel that the skills, experience (on a whole lot of different levels) and knowledge that I have accumulated are appropriate. I am not community minded, it is more that I care for the community in which I live and I would like to contribute in a positive way.”
