Heather Tanguay

Heather Tanguay
QSO JP
Tanguay in 2022
27th Mayor of Palmerston North
In office
2004–2007
Preceded byMark Bell-Booth
Succeeded byJono Naylor
Personal details
Born
Heather Leigh Black

(1944-09-17) 17 September 1944 (age 80)
Napier, New Zealand
Political partyLabour

Heather Leigh Tanguay QSO JP (née Black; born 17 September 1944) is a New Zealand politician who served for twelve years on the Palmerston North City Council, being Mayor from 2004 to 2007. She takes a leading role in the community, has served in many official positions and received national awards for taking the lead in initiating social programmes to build diversity and support those who are disadvantaged.

Early life and family

Tanguay was born in Napier on 17 September 1944, the daughter of Marjory Emily Black (née Bell) and Gavin Charles "Charlie" Black, and was educated at Napier Girls' High School.[1] She married Jerry Harry Tanguay, and the couple had three children,[1] moving from Masterton to Manawatu in 1987.

Tanguay's oldest child, Gavin, has followed in her political footsteps by being elected on to the Troms and Finnmark county council in the 2019 Norwegian election.[2][3]

Political career

Tanguay served a total of twelve years for Palmerston North City Council,[4] becoming Mayor in 2004 when she defeated incumbent Mark Bell-Booth.[5] During her mayoralty, Palmerston North City Council signed the contract with Mighty River Power for the proposed Turitea Wind Farm.[6] Tanguay has said she is "unrepentant" for supporting this because [while] "wind farms are contentious and yes, there have been mechanical problems that have made it difficult for the people living near to them, but if I had my time again I certainly would support them again. I always believed there were more in favour than there weren't."[7]

Reflecting on her time as a councillor, Tanguay has said there was a bullying culture in the council at the time, and this plus her socialist beliefs and positions on social issues made the years challenging for her. She recalled that her stance on tighter gun controls during a heated debate within a council chamber "full of gun owners" in 1996, led to her receiving a threat in the post. In the 2007 campaign, her signs were vandalised and she was accused of being unfit to lead Palmerston North because she was not a Christian and this ultimately led to her decision not to stand for re-election in 2010.[7]

At the elections in 2007, she was beaten by Jono Naylor with 12524 to 8088 votes,[8] but continued as a councillor and in 2008, opened a 32-kilometre section of the national Te Araroa trail. When unveiling the sign, Tanguay acknowledged the efforts of Te Araroa Manawatu Trust in completing the work.[9]

She considered contesting the 2010 mayoralty, but did not put her name forward in the end.[10]

Formal community positions

In 1987, Tanguay was appointed as a justice of the peace.[1] She was a trustee of the Charities Commission from 2004 to 2009,[11] and is a trustee of the Manawatū section of Te Araroa.[12] As of 2010, she was employed by the Department of Internal Affairs.[10] In 2019 she stood down from her position on the Lottery Oranga Marae Committee,[13] and was thanked by Nanaia Mahuta, the then Minister for Maori Development.[14]

Community initiatives

Palmerston North

While living in Palmerston North, Tanguay is credited with establishing the Ethkick football tournaments, which had the specific aim of "promoting diversity and intercultural friendship."[15] Soon after moving to the area, Tanguay took on the role as head of Palmerston North's Red Cross, became involved with community issues and set up a network of social activists that met most Sundays in her home. When this group asked her to represent them, her political career began when she ran for the Palmerston North City Council in 1995.[7] Tanguay and her husband moved to Auckland in 2013 to be close to their daughters and grandchildren. She recalls that the shift to Auckland was "tinged with the same excitement" they had when moving from Masterton to Manawatu in 1987, but that they had "no intention of retiring" when they got to Auckland.[7]

Auckland

In Auckland, Tanguay established the Glen Eden Residents Association.[16] In 2016, building on the work she had done in Palmerston North, she organised the Ethkick West football tournament, noting: "It's not just a football tournament, it's a celebration of diversity in the west. Everybody can play out there together and build a bridge between their communities."[17]

In 2018, Tanguay took a lead role in establishing three free roadside pantries in Glen Eden as a part of the Pataka Kai (food pantry) movement. Local Board member, Greg Presland noted that the initiative is [a] "resident-led, grassroots, crowdsourced solution to helping locals that are in need..[while]..at the same time, it builds and strengthens community."[18]

A 2018 petition, organised by Tanguay, entitled 'To save our precious waterways', was presented to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The response was [that] "currently, the Minister of Local Government is leading a cross-agency review of New Zealand’s three waters system—drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater...[and]...we note that the scope of the review includes the concerns raised by the petitioner."[19]

Over the course of eight years between 2013 and 2021, Tanguay and her husband Jerry have restored the Milan Bush Reserve through founding the association 'Friends of Milan Reserve'. Initiatives have included native vegetation planting, pest trapping, stream restoration, rubbish removal, and the installation of paths with botanical signs. Their efforts won them the RĀTĀ AWARD at the 2020 Ecomatters Love Your Place Awards.[16]

Tanguay is president of local charity 'Give a Kid a Blanket', which provides warm clothing and bedding for families in need.[16]

Honours and awards

In 1990, Tanguay was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1]

She was the recipient of a 2009 Harmony Award by Islam Awareness for her longstanding support of the Manawatu Muslim community.[20]

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Tanguay was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to local government and the community.[16][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 358. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  2. ^ "Pollofpolls.no - MDGS liste i Troms og Finnmark 2019".
  3. ^ "Rokkan Iversen på topp for MDG: Krever at det nye fylket blir miljøvennlig - Harstad Tidende". www.ht.no. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Ex-mayor farewelled at council meeting". Manawatu Standard. 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  5. ^ "New mayors sworn in nationwide". TVNZ. 10 October 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  6. ^ "$300m wind farm deal signed". The New Zealand Herald. 30 August 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d Hyde, Chris (17 April 2013). "Days of wine – and bitterness". Manawatu Standard. stuff. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Your Vote 07 – The results". New Zealand Herald. 14 October 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Palmerston North opens new section". Te Araroa New Zealand's Trail. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Tanguay mulls launching new mayoral bid". Manawatu Standard. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Officer Summary". Charities Commission. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  12. ^ "The Trusts". Te Araroa Trust. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  13. ^ "About Oranga Marae" (The Mātauranga Māori Marae Ora Fund is a partnership between the Department of Internal Affairs, Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.). Te Puni Kokiri. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Nanaia Mahuta appoints five members for Lottery Oranga Marae Committee" (With inputs from the New Zealand Government Press Release.). Devdiscourse. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  15. ^ Galuszka, Jono (25 February 2018). "Ethkick football tournament brings together different cultural communities". Manawatu Standard. stuff. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d "Former Palmerston North mayor Heather Tanguay gets QSO for service to community". stuff. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  17. ^ Smith, Simon (18 July 2016). "Ethkick football tournament a celebration of west Auckland diversity". stuff. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  18. ^ Presland, Greg (24 September 2018). "Glen Eden gets three Pataka Kai". Future West. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  19. ^ Petition of Heather Tanguay: Save our precious drinking water Report of the Governance and Administration Committee. Parliament NZ. August 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  20. ^ "2009 Harmony Award Recipients". Islam Awareness. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  21. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2021". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Palmerston North
2004–2007 		Succeeded by