Thelma Sowman looks ahead

Thelma Sowman is a woman of few words when Marlborough District Council meetings are in session. She also has a genial reserve when sitting down for a cuppa with a professional acquaintance on a Friday afternoon.

Such moments of quietude aside, she has a lot to say. Thelma worked in radio and served as mayoress before Blenheim Ward voters elected her as a councillor. In her third term, which she expects to be her last, she chairs subcommittees for grants and road-naming while holding the portfolio for parks, open spaces and cemeteries.

Much of a councillor’s work – contacting constituents, reading briefings, seeking answers – takes place out of general view. For the public parts, Thelma has experiences to draw upon as NZME general manager and, overlapping, wife of a four-term mayor.

That would be Alistair Sowman. He wore the mayoral chain from 2004 through 2016, a period which proved transformational for Thelma.

Being mayoress, she shared, “that’s what got me interested in the local body politic. Prior to that, I wasn’t that interested [in the council].

“I’ve certainly always been interested in what’s going on within the community,” Thelma injected, “and with the radio station, I was involved in a sponsorship role – but not an active part in making decisions for the council.

“I guess that’s why I stood for council. As mayoress, I could do a lot for the community. I missed that.”

Eye to the future
Thelma made a conscious decision to put some temporal distance between Alistair’s mayorship and her candidacy “so I could go in as my own person”.

Through professional and charitable avenues, she remained actively involved in the community.

“It’s just part of my life,” Thelma reflected. “I’m not very good at sitting still.”
In some ways, that makes her intention not to seek a fourth term seem surprising.

The next local election comes in 2028. Yet, she has a firm rationale.

“We need more younger people to come through,” Thelma explained. “I feel quite strongly about that. However, it is difficult for younger people because of the time that you need to do the job properly.

“Especially for people with young families, for businessowners, those councillors find it a bit too much sometimes. That worries me.”