30 September 2022
DemocracyNZ Candidate to contest Taranaki-King Country.
DemocracyNZ, founded by former Northland MP, Matt King, has begun the process of selecting and confirming candidates for the 2023 General Election.
The Party is proud to announce that Lee Smith, has been confirmed as the first DemocracyNZ candidate (after Party Leader, Matt King) for the 2023 General Election, standing in the Taranaki-King Country electorate.
“We’re incredibly proud to welcome Lee into the DemocracyNZ family. Lee represents the values and principles that are at the foundation of our Party, and we look forward to working with her as we grow our support ahead of the next election,” Matt says.
Lee Smith has lived in the King Country, for more than 20 years, and over that time has run a successful local business. She was born and raised in Taranaki. Her father was a dairy farmer. Lee credits her parents for instilling in her a passion for farming and an unwavering drive and commitment to advocate for the rural sector. She is a wife, a mother of six and a grandmother, and in between supporting her children’s sports teams and participating in community activities, Lee is an avid gardener. Family is her number one priority.
Lee joined DemocracyNZ after becoming increasingly concerned about the downward trajectory of New Zealand’s economy and social cohesion under this Labour Government.
“I’m grateful to be the DemocracyNZ candidate for Taranaki-King Country,” Lee says. “Putting my name up for DemocracyNZ is a responsibility and commitment that I do not take lightly. We are an emerging Party, but we are becoming a political force. There are many people who currently feel politically homeless and DemocracyNZ is the answer to that uncertainty. I will be working extremely hard to win Taranaki-King Country for DemocracyNZ.”
“I have always been interested in service for the community and our country. My favourite political quote is from the Athenian General, Pericles, who said ‘Just because you do not take an interest in politics, doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you’.”
Matt says the Party has been growing in leaps and bounds since beginning a nationwide roadshow in April this year, hosting meetings in community halls, workingmen’s clubs, and pubs across New Zealand, and the grassroots support and interest in DemocracyNZ has been humbling.
“There is a huge appetite for change among hard-working Kiwis. This goes beyond the desire to just remove the current Labour Government. Yes, that’s a strong message we’ve received, but there’s a greater desire and a hunger for meaningful change. Kiwis have had enough of parties arguing every three years how they’re going to allocate the dollars they tax from hard-working Kiwis. New Zealanders want more, and DemocracyNZ will be articulating that change over the coming months,” Matt says.