Photo supplied by Logan Soole
At 19 I was skipping college to play Mario-Kart. At that age Logan Soole had done several years of community volunteering and been elected to the Franklin Local Board.
Even now, in my 50s, meeting the now 25-year-old on Zoom from the UK, I still feel pangs of guilt. Luckily, Logan Soole (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa) is self-effacing and jovial. He describes himself as a “retired politician”. He now works for Air New Zealand in the UK. He’s also the co-founder of WasteXpert. This uses artificial intelligence to help construction and demolition companies reduce waste. He’s clearly not one who spends much bandwidth comparing himself to anyone else.
Moving to Pukekohe
While his family was brought up in Pukekohe, he was raised in West Auckland. “It was cool to visit their old home,” he remembers. “They had this cool house. It’s where all the lambs were, and where my aunties and uncles were brought up.” But it was still a shock in 2015 when his family moved back to a two-acre lifestyle block carved from a family friend’s property.
“It was very tricky when we moved, and the next day I started at Pukekohe High School. I didn’t want to leave. I had all my friends out West. But my parents were absolutely right, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I did three years at that school, and made some incredible friends and connections.”
Outside of Pukekohe High School, plenty of his time was spent outdoors. He spent time on the neighbouring farm, and did plenty of fishing and hunting when he got the chance. He also picked up work, gardening for a elderly couple he’s still in touch with.
Volunteering and Community Connections
The last two years of school were when the volunteering kicked in. He also became Head Student at the school. Teaming up with local police Sergeant Wayne Paxton, he helped run audio and lighting for community events. They then organised an outdoor obstacle course for the final school year. Police, fire and ambulance people joined in. The local farmer dug the course through his farm with a digger, and the event ran for several years.
“This is what I always remember about moving from somewhere like West Auckland,” he says. “People there didn't really know each other like they do in Pukekohe. Now I could walk down the main street and see someone I knew, maybe a friend's parents or grandparents. Although it’s growing, it still has that rural heart.”
Logan also ran events with local councillor Andy Baker, who later suggested Logan stand for the Board.
“I didn’t know anything about politics,” he admits. “I’d done all this volunteer event work. I'd worked for a local towing and salvage yard and then a security installations company.”
The win, even by a narrow margin, was a surprise. He realised, again, it was his local network that had come through for him.
“I didn't think it would be an area that would elect a 19-year-old,” he says. “I didn't realise it was all those years of meeting people through school. It was teachers and my peers and their parents, as well as people who knew of me from the local rest home and volunteering. People thought ‘we'll give that guy a chance because we know him and he works hard.’ But I think the people of Franklin really took a chance!”
A whirlwind and vertical learning curve followed.
“It's not just you're going and cutting ribbons. You're balancing budgets while trying to sell change and decisions to people.”
Franklin Still Feels Like Home
As he says, he must have got something right. At the next election his vote increased considerably. The joy of it? “Ultimately, for people to enjoy where they are,” he says. “It’s about place. What is in this place that will make me stay?
“It will always be my home. When the time is right, I’ll come back to Franklin."
"There's something so unique about it, in its people and what it has to offer. It's a place that I want to raise my family. I think Franklin is – and will always be – an unbelievably attractive place.”
Having folks like Logan leading the way is a big part of that.
