Samuel Oak Vette Gibson has 32,400 followers on Instagram, where he shares his passion for the outdoors, as a dad, bushman and “part hunter, trapper, fisher, forager & conservationist”.

However, the author, documentary presenter, conservationist, and now candidate for Gisborne District Council’s general ward, is no stranger to policy and governance spaces.

Speaking with Local Democracy Reporting, he says that several times a year, he travels to Wellington to advise on policy, “whether that’s for the commissioner for the environment or MPI or various MPs”.

“People don’t tend to know that side of me.”

Over the past 10 years, people had suggested he enter politics, but he always “brushed it off”, he said.

However, when Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle struck the region early in 2023, it “hit home” and caused him to reflect on what he and his whānau could bring to the table.

His grandfather, who helped raise him, had helped clean up after Cyclone Bola in 1988. He was an agricultural accountant, “so he saw a lot of our communities through some hardships”.

“For me, the cyclone hit, and I was like, okay – if I am being asked to run for council...what skills do we as a whānau bring to the table, what communities can we help represent and help articulate their needs – and it is that resilience piece around resilient landscapes, resilient businesses and resilient communities.

“We’re going to need innovative solutions along the East Coast to bring us into the future...and I think that’s what I bring to the table,” he said, noting there are predictions the region will experience more severe rainfall events.

The father of two grew up in Te Tairāwhiti and is raising his children in town, so he has “an understanding of the hardships that plague our urban community as well,” he said.

He has spent the past five years working “extensively” with GDC, “to achieve the best outcomes” for farmers, landowners and catchment groups.

He has a temporary contract with the West Coast Regional Council doing similar work in the catchment space, so his two children can see where his wife grew up.

Gibson noted GDC was operating under its three-year plan, which was focused on rebuild, recovery and resiliency. He believes the region needed to be more intentional with infrastructure decisions.

He would like to feed into the 30-year infrastructure use plan coming up, “to ensure that we are conscious about our decisions when it comes to roading and what resources our communities need moving forward”.

“Because if we don’t have that infrastructure, our businesses don’t thrive, our landscapes will degrade, and our communities won’t flourish as well as they can...and I am passionate about our East Coast communities,” he said.

Gibson is one of 19 candidates vying for one of the eight general ward positions, with 2.4 candidates per seat.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.