Levin’s only Pasifika candidate runs to connect her community with local government

Jane Masoe is standing for the Horowhenua District Council’s Levin General Ward.

The community leader and teacher is standing in local elections to inspire young Pacific people to see themselves represented in local government.

“For me, it was more for our people,” she says. “So that our younger people can also see that we can actually go for those positions. It’s not just Pālagi, not just older. You can be young, be Pasifika and be around those tables.”

Masoe, who is Samoan and was born in Palmerston North, teaches at Waiopehu College, where she serves as a Pasifika Dean and teaches social sciences, physical education, Pasifika studies, and performing arts.

She is active on school boards, sports clubs, and the local Pasifika committee, which runs community initiatives in health, education, and culture.

“People came up to me and asked me if I should go for it because of my work within the community,” she says. “It just made sense to represent all our Pasifika cultures within our region.”

Performers at the Fale Pasifika Horowhenua Festival, celebrating the region’s Pacific communities. Photo/Fale Pasifika Horowhenua Facebook

On social media, she wrote that she is standing “for the people”, not for titles or politics, and promised to “bring energy, good vibes, teamwork and a passion for people to council decisions”.

Bridging civic gaps

Masoe is the only Pasifika candidate standing in the Levin General Ward, which will elect five councillors this term. She says the campaign has been both exciting and challenging, especially in a community where many Pacific people do not yet see local voting as relevant to their daily lives.

“Our Pasifika people don’t really vote local,” she says. “They don’t really know what’s happening or what goes on. But because there’s a familiar face now, they’ve made an effort to vote.”

Masoe’s campaign has been as much about civic education as it has been about politics.

“You’re spending more time helping them understand what it is,” she says. “It’s repetitive, it’s hard. A lot of our people think politics is just Labour or National. They don’t know about our local government, where we live.”

Despite those barriers, she says seeing young people engage has made the effort worthwhile.

“Our 18-year-olds are like, ‘Jane, where do we vote?’ For me, that’s enough. Just putting it out there. It’s so cool seeing them take an interest.”

While Levin’s Pasifika community remains small, it continues to grow. The 2018 Census recorded about 8.4 per cent Pacific residents, but Masoe believes that number is higher now.

Levin teacher and community leader Jane Masoe is standing for the Horowhenua District Council’s Levin General Ward. Photo/Horowhenua District Council/Jane Masoe for Levin Ward 2025, Horowhenua District Council Facebook

“It’s increased quite a bit,” she says. “There’s a lot of farm work, factory work, fruit picking. That’s what attracts people, especially from Samoa. My parents were one of the first Samoan families here back in the 1980s. Now there are many more.”

Priorities if elected

If elected, Masoe says her top priority will be building community connections and helping people understand how council decisions affect everyday life.

“Before I can do anything else, I feel like that’s what I’ve got to do first,” she says. “It’s about engagement, bridging all those gaps, and bringing diversity into our community.”

She also wants to focus on environmental and youth issues, including employment for young people and the pollution of Levin’s lake.

“We’ve got our lake here. It’s absolutely polluted. And a lot of our young people just sit back because they’re scared or unsure. I want to change that.”

The Levin Ward that Jane Masoe hopes to represent. Photo/Horowhenua District Council

Pacific values at the heart

Masoe credits her upbringing and cultural values for shaping her leadership style.

“My Pasifika values are who I am,” she says. “Respect, honesty, trust, faith. It’s about making our family proud, making our culture proud. We carry our parents, our village, our name wherever we go.”

She wants people to know that she is: “Here for the people, with the people.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.