 In 1998 and 2001, she was a city councillor in the Heathcote ward.After the numbers of city councillors were reduced from 24 to 12 and the number of wards reduced accordingly, she successfully stood in the Spreydon-Heathcote ward in the 2004, 2007, and 2010.Early in 2012, she called on the government to replace the Christchurch City Councillors with commissioners after they had become dysfunctional, a call that was rejected by the Minister for Local Government, Nick Smith.