Templeton wishes all council members and Phil Mauger the best for the next three years. She says catering for Christchurch's growing population, fixing water infrastructure, and climate change are some of the big issues ahead for the city.
When speaking to Metro News, Phil Mauger said he put his win down to focusing on overlooked issues in the community. "I see a broken water main or something that's not quite right with roads or pipes and things. I like to put my five bobs in," he said
Running again for local government isn't on the cards for Templeton at this stage. She plans to take some time out and reconnect with nature before getting back into politics. She's looking forward to walking the Routeburn Track later in the year.
"There's still a lot of work to do, though." She aims to focus on making the political space a safe space for women and other underrepresented groups. "That's something I'd like to continue on now."
In 2021, Templeton made headlines when she was harassed online by a fake account on social media, revealed to be a member of the Young Nats party. She says online harassment is a constant issue she deals with.
The highlight of her campaign has been building a community around her cause. "In Christchurch, we're used to building community around disasters, the way we accomplished that with a grassroots campaign is my favourite bit."
Her campaign highlighted three pillars: city, people and future. She's talked about how she wanted to run a grassroots community campaign. When asked by Metro News earlier in the year why she was running for mayor, she said, "I really want to be part of leading a council and a city that is future-focused and making sure that we are both environmentally and financially stable as well as resilient to our future challenges."
She plans to connect with supporters and volunteers at an event this evening in the Central City.
