We farewell David Ward, Chair of our Democracy and Participation Reference Group and Chief Executive of Selwyn District Council, at the end of June. David is retiring after many years in the local government sector and 15 years chairing our Reference Groups. His leadership has been greatly appreciated by Taituarā and the wider sector.

David has fostered relationships in the sector through his mentoring of chief executives, leading our chief executives’ induction training, and chairing our Governance Professional’s Forums.

David has played an important part in rallying the sector to work together and exhorting councils to share information with each other because they are not in competition.

As he leaves the sector, we want to convey our sincere thanks for the impact he has had on our organisation and its mission over the past 15 years.