Profile

Stevey Chernishov’s STRATEGY ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND –

Localise & Enterprise

Localise → keep opportunities, jobs & decision-making close to home.

Enterprise → encourage & empower people to create, innovate, & build products/services.

Stevey Chernishov is standing as a mayoral candidate, committed to representing the voice & values of Southern people. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected community.

—

🌿 CONNECT

Bringing people together in unity, breaking down walls, and creating relationships that reflect love, peace, and belonging — a glimpse of the harmony of heaven on earth.

🌱 GROW

Nurturing hearts, minds, and communities to flourish in goodness, purpose, and hope — cultivating the beauty and abundance of heaven in our daily lives.

🌸 SHARE

Generously giving time, resources, and kindness so that no one is left behind — living out the joy and abundance of heaven through selfless action on earth.

CONNECT + GROW + SHARE.

Stevey Chernishov is running for Council to give the South a stronger voice. It’s time for fresh, inspiring leadership.

✅ Fresh leadership. Stronger South. Stevey for Mayor.
✅ Motivated with strong vision, values & purpose.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

+ Bachelor of Arts majoring in Visual Culture
+ Dip Grad Teaching majoring in Technology
+ Dip Grad Anthropology (Social)

For some, it’s a bit old fashioned. But I put a lot of effort into these so thought it’s worth pointing out that I have three degree qualifications from Otago University.

+ Bachelor of Arts – Major in Visual Culture

= Developed advanced skills in critical thinking, analysis & communication.
= Gained expertise in interpreting how images, design & media shape cultural understanding and everyday experience.
= Developed strong research skills & the ability to engage with complex cultural ideas across disciplines.

+ Dip Grad Teaching – Major in Technology

= Specialised in teaching & learning with digital technology.
= Built practical expertise in curriculum design, innovation & hands-on problem-solving.
= Gained the ability to inspire & guide learners through applied creative & technical projects.

+ Dip Grad Anthropology – Social Anthropology

= Focused on the study of human culture, diversity, & social systems.
= Developed strong skills in cultural analysis, ethnographic research & understanding social change.
= Applied anthropological research methods study education, creative space & community contexts.

VALUE

Together, these represent a unique interdisciplinary perspective—blending cultural insight, creative analysis & applied teaching practice.

FAMILY HISTORY & CONNECTION TO THE SOUTH

Being born & raised in Invercargill, I have insights into Invercargill & greater Southland’s potential that others may not see.
I attended Salford Primary School, Rosedale Intermediate [now known as James Hargest Junior Campus], & James Hargest High School.
I have worked in & around Invercargill much of my adult life, as a school teacher. My teaching specialty is in Digital Technologies.
I have taught Workshop Technology, Graphics, & Food Technology.
I have worked in the online marketing/media profession, focusing on visual communciation.

---

The most fun I’ve had in Invercargill was running a successful AirBnB & renting rooms on booking.com to travellers. Through tourism I learned that Invercargill is in a great position; being on main route from Dunedin, with the famous Catlins nearby, Riverton, the rugged South Coast; having a city which makes a great stopover or airplane landing point for Central Otago &/or Te Anau. Many adventurous travellers visit Invercargill.

I have Scottish family history & my heritage links to the Southland District go back over 165 years. Coming from a pioneering background, I am a direct descendants of D.A. Cameron who found ‘Nokomai Station’ – a historic sheep farm, food production site & gold mining location nestled in the mountains of Northern Southland.

Cameron was one of the first European men to comprehensively explore Southern New Zealand, building relationship with Māori – where together they mapped areas & created routes, place names, settlements, etc.

Very early on, in his first visit to the South, Cameron also purchased ‘Closeburn Station’ near Queenstown while making his way through to Lake Wakatipu on horseback.

My family brought the first sheep into Southland in 1859 (imported into Southland & driven from Bluff’s port inland by foot).

Just a few years after arriving in Southland a gold-rush began in Nokamai which made life rather bustling & thriving. Gold was discovered in 1862, & the lower Nikolai Valley grew the most fast paced town in Southland into a thriving township, which had food shops, two banks, a school, library & medical services. My descendants witnessed the beginnings of a thriving Northern Southland, & although there have been setbacks at times, local history has proved that we have the resources to thrive in Southland..

VISION FOR THE SOUTH

At the heart of Stevey’s vision is a Southland that is ‘local, enterprising & purposeful’. He believes in investing wisely in infrastructure that attracts talent & opportunity, thinking as a business that is set up for growth – no dependance. He supports social enterprises that put people & community first, fostering a local economy that uplifts everyone.

His values can be summed up in three pillars:

GROUNDED: celebrating local culture, trade & legacy.
FORWARD-THINKING: embracing innovation, creativity & enterprise.
COMMUNITY & GROWTH: building strong, united & meaningful connections across the South.

Stevey has a clear stance on Southland’s current challenges. He is concerned about mounting regional debt & the dominance of monopoly contractors. His powerful solution: keep decisions local, build & raise up Southland businesses & prioritise projects that deliver real value to the people.

The governance systems that we have developed are distrusting & rely heavily on control, rather than building communities & supporting developments that grow because the people have good morals, values & strong work ethic.

Instead of focusing on permits, legislation & control, our revised council shall focus more on educating & resourcing the public, providing services & creating opportunities that foster growth. There is a place for all existing services, but we need to rethink the way that we deliver them.

Local government exists to serve the people…

The role of a Council & their decision makers is to:
+ Make decisions that reflect the true interests & wellbeing of the people.
+ Protect community well-being.
+ Provide services & infrastructure needed to for the locals to thrive.
+ Be transparent, accountable & responsive to the needs of locals.
+ Shape the future of our city, towns & the surrounding region.
+ Act with integrity.
+ Partner with the community.
+ Listen to & consult with the people.
+ Deliver social, economic, environmental & cultural outcomes that reflect the unique needs and aspirations of the people.
Healthy local governance sets up a foundation for the community to flourish.

FOCUS:

= Make decisions to improve personal & community wellbeing.
= Investigate ways to provide services & infrastructure that are financially viable.
= Empower the future of our city & surrounding so that it serve the needs of our people.
= Serve community, consult with community professionals, & build trust with the people.
= Prioritise personal & community growth.

POLICIES

For an overview of where this is going, have a look at this link: www.southern.nz/topics

Resilience Policies

+ Household Resilience: Educate the public to plan for extreme weather, prepare personal first aid kits & connect with the community.
+ Info Hubs: Establish resources where people can access guidance on flood preparation, drought resilience, renewable energy & land use.
+ Structural Work: Develop clear guidelines & promote access to affordable building strengthening materials for †he public to buy.

Environment Policies

+ Micro-Factories for Waste: Support small-scale local facilities that transform paper, plastics, & textiles into reusable materials.
+ Waste management strategies to screen products brought into the region. e.g. Only buying bottles of one colour, to enhance re-usability.
+ Work with food businesses in the region, convincing them to diversify their food product range & distribute portions locally.

Housing & Planning Policies

+ Create ‘Community Education’ resources for the public about building; demystifying the Building Act 2004 & Resource Management Act 1991.
+ Develop ways to solve our housing crisis using small buildings, which anyone from any walk of life can own & live in.
+ Make community engagement, innovation & planning more important than legislation & control.

Jobs & Economy Policies

+ Establish innovation hubs for the growth of social enterprise, technology & micro-manufacturing businesses. + Empower local farmers; to reassess their situation & innovate new ways forward.
+ Council creates pathways for 6000 new small buildings to be built in Southland, to be owned by Southlanders.

Community Governance Policies

+ All council contracts, budgets & financial forecasts published in plain language. Accountability is stewardship.
+ Ensure Māori voices are included in decision-making, through geniune dialogue; especially in environmental cultural heritage projects.
+ Support ethnic community-led businesses and festivals that create jobs, tourism, and cultural richness.

Rates & Revenue Policies

+ Thoroughly analyse Council infrastructure upgrade spending, including contractor rates – look for alternative ways forward.
+ Conduct research – searching for efficient methods of replacing aged water supply pipes, sewerage & storm water systems.
+ Invest in innovative methods of making products out of Southland’s Council waste. We can create high value products from recyclables.

Recreation & Culture Policies

+ Council will create well presented, clear, easy to follow resources & processes for starting up new enterprises, attractions & services.
+ Work with other Councils to make Southland a fun & exciting place in New Zealand to go out; with dynamic vibe that is established by locals.
+ Work to attract people from all over the world, to create ‘natural outdoor adventure playground’ experiences throughout Southland..

Transport Policies

+ Design what the region looks like in 30 years time, relationally, functionality, environmentally & aesthetically.
+ We will create a budget for each community area where we have a medium – long term vision for how movement throughout the entire city works.
+ We will travel towards building what is best for communities as a whole – any identifiable part of a community, and the individuals. ——- Utilities & Service Policies + Lower the dosage of fluoride & other chemicals in our tap water, & sending toothpaste with toothbrushes to every dwelling in the city.
+ Work with schools, companies & organisations to begin deliberately sorting rubbish for optimised reuse & innovative recycling.
+ Educate the public on how to be enterprising & be a part of the community & foster the growth local businesses & services.