Pippa Coom is a New Zealand politician, who is a former councillor on the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a ...

and former chair of the

Waitematā Local Board The Waitematā Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is one of the three boards overseen by the council's Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor. The Waitematā board, named after the Waitematā Harbour which f ...

Early life

Previous to succeeding in her bid for a Local Board seat, she worked as a lawyer for

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

, and campaigned unsuccessfully for a seat on the Board of the

Auckland Energy Consumer Trust Entrust, formerly named Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT) prior to June 2016, is a trust for electricity consumers in Auckland, New Zealand. Formed in 1993 as sole owner of the original Mercury Energy Limited, it is now majority owner of elect ...

Political career

Coom was elected in 2010 on the

City Vision City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Re ...

ticket. She was re-elected in 2013, getting the highest number of votes of all candidates in her board area. Coom was again re-elected to the

at the 2016 Auckland elections, and became chair of the board. Among her interests, she supports increased cycling for transport in Auckland, and has been involved in organizing events such as the 'Cycle Style Gala' with

Cycle Action Auckland Bike Auckland (Bike AKL), formerly Cycle Action Auckland (CAA) is a pro-cycling advocacy group in Auckland, New Zealand. The predominantly volunteer group aims to improve infrastructure and conditions, as well as perceptions of cycling to encour ...

, and was a coordinator for

Frocks on Bikes Frock has been used since Middle English as the name for an article of clothing, typically coat-like, for men and women. Terminology In British English and in Commonwealth countries the word may be used as an alternative term for a girl's or ...

women cycling events. She is also involved in environmental groups like Grey Lynn 2030. In March 2019, it was announced that Coom would be City Vision's governing body candidate for Councillor of the

Waitematā and Gulf ward Waitematā and Gulf Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects one councillor and covers the Great Barrier, Waiheke, and Waitematā Local Boards. The current councillor is Mike Lee. Demographics Waitematā and Gulf ward covers and had an es ...

, and she eventually unseated the incumbent

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...

with 6,581 votes, a majority of 324. Coom ran again as the Waitematā and Gulf ward councillor in the

2022 Auckland local elections The 2022 Auckland local elections took place between September and October 2022 by postal vote as part of nation-wide local elections. The elections were the fifth since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed o ...

, however lost to Mike Lee.

Awards

For her work with Cycle Action Auckland and the Grey Lynn Farmer's Market, she won the

Sustainable Business Network The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) is a membership-based social enterprise located in Auckland, New Zealand. The network was created in October 2002 by founder and CEO Rachel Brown. History The network was founded by Rachel Brown in 2002, w ...

"Sustainability Champion Award (2011)".

References

External links

Pippa Coom
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coom, Pippa Politicians from Auckland Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand women lawyers 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Auckland Councillors 21st-century New Zealand lawyers 21st-century New Zealand women lawyers