Sharon Stewart is a New Zealand politician who is an

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

lor for the

Howick ward Howick Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects two councillors and covers the Howick Local Board. Sharon Stewart and Maurice Williamson are the current councillors. Demographics Howick ward covers and had an estimated population of as of ...

. She is also the chair of Auckland Council's Civil Defence and Emergency Management Committee. Stewart assumed the role in 2013.

Political career

She was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

(QSM) in 1998 for services to Howick. Stewart served on the

Manukau City Council Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

for twelve years, between 1998 and 2010. The councillor was instrumental in helping aid New Zealand rescue efforts in the

1999 Jiji earthquake The Chi-Chi earthquake (later also known as the Jiji earthquake) (), also known as the great earthquake of September 21 (), was a 7.3 ML or 7.7 Mw earthquake which occurred in Jiji (Chi-Chi), Nantou County, Taiwan on Tuesday, 21 Se ...

. On the Manukau council, she was an advocate against 3G cell tower construction, in her local area, on the basis of decreased property values and "health risk . In the 2010 Auckland Council elections, Stewart won a seat on the

, topping the poll in the

.Stewart and Ross for Auckland Council
''Howick and Pakuranga Times'', 9 October 2010 Prior to being elected an Auckland councillor, she opposed the naming of her ward seat, which originally had been named 'Te Irirangi' after the area's principal Māori chief prior to European colonisation. Stewart organised a petition to instead name the ward 'Howick', which was successful. She was reelected unopposed in 2013. She was again re-elected in the 2016 Auckland elections. She was again re-elected in the 2019 Auckland elections. Between 2010 and 2019, Stewart opposed denser housing in discussion around the Auckland Unitary Plan, as well as rate rises. During debate over the Unitary Plan, she attracted controversy by suggesting that potential requirements to consult with Māori were "undemocratic" and a "form of economic and social apartheid". The councillor stood on the self-dubbed "B Team" in opposition to the leadership of Auckland Mayor

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...

. In the run-up to the 2019 Auckland elections, the New Zealand Herald opined that the councillor made little contribution to council discussions and that Stewart would be better suited as a member of the Howick Local Board. In that year, she supported the prioritisation of the Reeves Road Flyover roading project instead of the Eastern Busway public transport project. In March 2022, Stewart was the only councillor to vote against the council's Regional Streets for People programme which would give money to walking and

cycling infrastructure Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except whe ...

projects. Stewart has advocated for higher-quality pavement due to personal experiences – known as her "war on footpaths". Meanwhile, in June 2022, she said high-density, affordable housing should be built in rural areas like Glenbrook, instead of within existing central isthmus suburbs amid a debate over special character area housing provisions. Stewart said: "We should be building where the blue-collar want to work – if they want to work."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Sharon Living people Auckland Councillors 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal Manukau City Councillors Year of birth missing (living people)