Personal and Professional Background
Ms. Frana Cardno has a service record in local government of 20
years. She is currently the Mayor of the Southland District Council.
She was initially elected to the Te Anau Community Board, a position
she held for 12 years (6 as Chair). In 1989 she became a Councillor
on the Southland District Council and after one term when she was
also Deputy Mayor. She became the Mayor in 1992. The Southland District
is the largest district in size in New Zealand and has 12 Community
Boards and 18 Community Development Communities. As Mayor, Frana
chairs the Council, attends functions and meetings in many of the
small communities in her district and is the voice on community
concerns to Central Government. She is also a member of the National
Council of Local Government New Zealand, the national voice of local
authorities. Her responsibilities on this National Council include
the water and wastewater, transport, and economic development working
parties. Additionally, she is Chair of the Regional Identity Southland
Trust and is on the Women’s Refuge Trust. Ms. Cardno is in her fifties,
she holds a tertiary degree, and previously worked as a kindergarten
teacher. Currently, she is a partner in her husband’s small business
on Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. She is married and describes herself
as part of the middle-income group of her community.
Entering and Working in Urban Local Government
Ms. Cardno has never had any close relatives in politics or government.
She stood for local government because she lived in a rapidly developing
town and with four small children she wanted to ensure the availability
of a library and community facilities for them. Ms. Cardno was encouraged
to run for office by other young mothers in similar positions. She
experienced difficulties in the electoral process, as it was hard
to take time of from her work as a kindergarten teacher to campaign.
It was also expensive as she had a very large district to campaign
in. She did not belong to a well-known Southland family, thus she
was not well known. She also had home responsibilities and baby
sitter problems. Once elected and in office, she faced difficulties
and discrimination from her colleagues, family and the community.
Comments were made about her ability to run a large business and
understand the budgetary process. Being the only woman on the Council
was also a lonely experience. She often felt that some of her colleagues
thought she would be better off in the kitchen looking after her
children. While she has a supportive husband, she still has difficulties
balancing her professional and domestic roles.
Breaking the Barriers
Ms. Cardno sees herself as a woman leader. She feels that she is
a role model for other women as being a mother, housewife and kindergarten
teacher helped others relate to her and show them what they can
achieve. She works at improving the status of women by speaking
at workshops, seminars and to women’s groups throughout New Zealand.
She especially makes an effort to speak to women in small isolated
communities. For her efforts she has been presented with the Rotary
Jean Harris Award for Otago Southland for Leadership for Women.
Ms. Cardno has also initiated, been part of and continued numerous
projects, which have developed and improved her local authority.
She has helped in a bottom up development of her community. Projects
and programmes cover a wide range of community initiatives, such
as infrastructure, urban development, arts, environment (including
a new library in Te Anau, main street development, central government
funding for a Topoclimate programme and a new ridge walking track
and building creative centres). On the whole, Ms. Cardno feels that
people’s perceptions of women in urban local government have changed
for the better over the past 10 years. She believes women bring
a different perspective, they are more aware of the social issues
and need for good community facilities and they have a better understanding
of the budget process. Ms. Cardno thinks her contribution to urban
local government has made a difference to the way in which her local
authority functions. During her time in office, the priority has
shifted from a focus on road infrastructure to community development
and a much more integrated approach. She also feels her approach
is different to that of her male colleagues, in that she believes
women have a natural affinity with people, family and community
and while they understand the grassroots of democracy, they have
a softer, more understanding approach. Frana Cardno thinks the barriers
that restrict women from entering the local government arena include
cost, travel, time and family responsibilities. In order to make
circumstances more favourable for women to participate in local
government, she suggests more realistic meeting fees and travel
costs, as well as more support for women. Ms. Cardno plans to continue
to work on building, maintaining and enhancing the quality of life
of residents while having a sustainable environment.
A Woman’s Perspective on Urban Local Government Issues
Ms. Cardno thinks women’s concerns and priorities generally differ
from those of men in terms of local government issues. She believes
women pay more attention to the social issues, they are more approachable,
have good communication and listening skills and are focused on
decision making. In her view, increasing the number of women in
local government has a direct effect on the status of women as when
she was elected Mayor she was the only woman and now there are 5
women on the Council. She feels that by being there she has helped
give other women confidence to stand. She also believes that women
leaders have a responsibility to promote female participation in
politics at all levels. Women often lose their confidence after
having children and must be encouraged to participate, particularly
in rural isolated communities.
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