Ashburton District Council candidate Shfire Sapphire says she wants a “world free of mandates”.
Sapphire, who is standing for one of five Ashburton ward seats at next month’s Local Government elections and also the Braided Rivers Community Trust, made that point as part of a passionate performance in the meet the candidates meeting on Sunday.
Sapphire, who also said she was a pro-choice and a believer in true democracy, was also the only candidate to offer a response other than no during question time when the subject of the controversial Voices For Freedom (VFF) group was raised.
Former Mayor and Ashburton Citizens’ Association secretary, Donna Favel, asked all candidates to declare if they were associated with the VFF group.
“I follow VFF on social media, I also follow Operation People and Chantelle Baker,” Sapphire said.
“I am very open about who I follow.’’
Baker is a prominent anti-mandate protester, who was recently booted from Facebook after allegedly sharing harmful disinformation to her platform.
Sapphire said everyone was entitled to their own opinion and she would listen to all the opinions before making her own decision.
“I won’t be told by the Government, and I will not be told by alternative media what to think,’’ she said.
“I will do the research and I will put my own mind to it and decide what I think about something.”
She shouted “freedom of speech” as she returned to her seat but not before she had also laid out her grand plan for “Ash Vegas where dreams come true”.
Among her ideas she pitched included Ashburton having a “university offering every degree imaginable”, specialist doctors, a mall and music festivals.
“We could even have our very own sky tower.”
Her vision was to put Ashburton on the map.
“A place that everyone wants to live and visit.
“Let’s dream big.”
At no point did she address how funding any of those plans and innovative ideas could work.

• By Jonathan Leask