A local first-time general election candidate says she’s focused on helping her political party double its current number of MPs.
Howick Local Board deputy chairperson and east Auckland business owner Bo Burns announced in August she’s standing for the ACT Party in Botany at the election, scheduled for Saturday, October 14.
“I’m focusing on earning party votes and working toward ACT getting 20 seats in Parliament,” she told the Times.
“I want people to vote for me because I have to start somewhere and I’m the new kid on the block.
“I think I have a pretty trusted name already and that’s what people want.
“They want politicians they can trust to say and do what the public wants them to do.”
Burns organises the popular annual Howick Santa Parade and runs her own business based in Howick.
When she announced she was standing for ACT, party leader David Seymour said his candidates were ordinary Kiwis from all walks of life who share a love for their community and a vision for real change.
Burns was no exception and she’s well-known in Botany and Howick, he said.
ACT received 7.6 per cent of the party vote nationwide at the 2020 general election, giving it nine List MPs alongside Seymour, the MP for Epsom.
A political poll in August put the party’s support amongst likely voters at 13 per cent, which would give it 17 MPs.
A more recent poll had the National Party on 39 per cent and ACT on 10 per cent, which would give the two parties 62 seats in Parliament and the ability to form a Government.
Burns says she’s set a target for how many party votes she wants to earn for ACT in Botany.
“What I’m trying to explain to voters is it’s not a campaign to take votes off National, it’s a campaign to get National and ACT into Government together.
“I’m making the message quite clear I’m not anti-National.
“If I can do my bit to ensure people give their party vote to ACT, then that’s what I’m doing.”
She’s sensing a “huge” desire for a change of Government and she’s heard from a lot of people who say they voted for the Labour Party in 2020 but won’t be this time around.
Burns will be working closely with ACT’s Pakuranga candidate, Parmjeet Parmar, up until election day.
Her campaign activities are similar to when she stood for the local board, such as talking to people at local events, sports clubs and on the street.
“ACT is really supportive and they enable all their candidates with their own campaign kit, so I’m basically ready to go,” she says.
“The good thing with ACT is they work collectively as a team so you’re not just out for yourself and I love that.
“I’m excited to be part of a team in a political party that has such a strong growth trajectory.”
