Voting Local 2010
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Local body ballots are out! What are the races where you live? The candidates? The issues? And how's your media coverage?
499 Responses
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Let me introduce you to a couple of our mayoral candidates.
Paulus Telfer: "The policies are, becoming the 51st State... of the United States. Switching currency to the US dollar, the removal of GST, enacting US Glass-Steagall banking legislation... The creation of the republic, removing the British obligators - the men behind the government's curtains.
Michael Hansen (and I cannot emphasise enough, this guy is also standing for the DHB) "There's no such thing as "schizophrenia". It's all done with two way transmitting bugs to talk to mainly young people with potential. If the "talking" is ignored, they are stung with an electronic cruelty machine." He then goes on to explain how heart surgery can be made unnecessary by flushing people's veins with CLR.
Beat that for crazy, Auckland.
There is no media coverage, there's no campaign. That would be insensitive. Which actually isn't much different from every other local body election. I'm still getting all my information from the candidate booklet, with the exception of "Nathan Ryan appears to be a massive jerkwad".
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Michael Hansen every now and again has a crazy ad in the Press where he espouses his belief that everything bad in the world everywhere is accomplished with the aid of secret rays. And yet, he never, ever wears a tinfoil hat in his photos.....
ETA My wife received her ballot papers last night, but I didn't - perhaps I've been disenfranchised, perhaps mine are still coming, who can tell. Until I get them you will have to do without a summary of the crashingly boring people who stand in Waimakariri.
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Beat that for crazy, Auckland.
I've got nutting - that makes Penny Blight look sane... Though one candidate for the local community board lost my vote with six words in his candidate booklet profile: "Newly-minted member of Grey Power". And he was doing so well...
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"Newly-minted member of Grey Power"
That seems inherently oxymoronic.
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Though one candidate for the local community board lost my vote with six words in his candidate booklet profile: "Newly-minted member of Grey Power"
I have solidly refused to vote for anyone who mentions their marital status and/or number of children in the first line of their candidate bio.
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I have solidly refused to vote for anyone who mentions their marital status and/or number of children in the first line of their candidate bio.
Indeed. You have viable reproductive organs - have a nice thick slice of urinal cake, Miss Thing, and get the fuck off my barren sodomitical lawn.
ETA: Can I save everyone being bored to sobs, and just confirm the Herald and North Shore throwaway rags aren't even trying?
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Beat that for crazy, Auckland.
You win.
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As usual on the North Shore there seem to be too many property developers and old blokes with the silver hair, dark blue jacket and shiny buttons photo. Once you drop them from the running, along with anyone even tangentially responsible for the current mess, the obvious lunatics and the touchy-feely-ultimately-hopeless types it's looking a bit thin on the ground.
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and for more humour, Farrar's advice to Aucklanders:
And generally you should not vote for these tickets:
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Any ticket that mentions “people” in its nameQuite insightful analysis!
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When I voted in my first Auckland council election I was a permanent resident living in a rented property. I therefore concluded that Citizens and Ratepayers was not for me as I wasn't either of those.
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Beat that for crazy, Auckland
Not quite, but we do have Raymond Presland - and he talks just like he writes:
Activities and Experiences through life − have given rise to my evolution − individuality − and this declaration of conscience. I speak not only from my own heart − but also from the hearts of many others. My city and country are my world − my veins carry blood not sawdust − every drop of my ancestry holds an inheritance of loyalty and patriotism. We demand better − a metropolis and country on the march − buildings − places − that we are proud to show off and skite about − we all want Auckland listed among the top few cities of the world − the money has been there.
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Quite insightful analysis!
How studiously even-handed he is, in declaring that it's good for democratic bodies to be governed for periods by the left and by the right, so that we get a pretty good balance over time!
You can see his argument- although we've all enjoyed the community-minded socially inclusive largesse of Mayor John Banks, isn't it time that we now temper this with a fresh new approach from a sound, pragmatic fiscal conservative, someone such as likely-looking candidate John Banks?
And this from the comments thread is priceless:John Gibson (8) Says:
September 20th, 2010 at 10:22 am
I know Cameron [Slater] is a fellow blogger but are you seriously recommending we vote for someone with no respect for the law, who undertakes irrational vendettas against random public personalities, and is homophobic. Hasn’t there already been enough problems with a loose cannon in North Shore politics ?[DPF: Yes]
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How many years have C&R dominated Auckland City Council? They've left such a mess that the Govt (both left and right) felt they needed to change it.
It was almost amusing when Banks and co started moaning about the new Mt Eden prison when he has let some much crap be built in Auckland.
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Deborah Hill-Cone is scathing about C&R in comparison with their national brethren.
C&R is a fusty club of warmed-over Tories presided over by the godfather-like former Nats president John Slater.
Let's get real. You don't expect the blue-blazer brigade to be dynamic whiz-bang sort of fellows - typical candidate: 69-year-old Doug Armstrong - but this election it seems to have managed to be both moribund and chaotic.
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Even more mystifying, though, is why the Nats in Wellington haven't stepped in to help their frankly hopeless northern counterparts to get a place in Auckland's new power structure.
Do they not realise how much influence the 20 councillors sitting around the Super City board table are going to have?
You've got to bet Labour is giving Len Brown's team shiatsu massages and pep talks every night.
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Looking at the blurbs for the Christchurch mayoral candidates what leaps out at me is the way both Bob & Jim start the majority of their sentences with the word "I".
The way this contrasts with the styles of the other blurbs just adds to the similarity.
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more Christchurch candidates...
Karl Varley
Independent Citizens
...He has gained international acclaim breaking a Guinness World Record by kicking through 30 Baseball bats in under 60 seconds.and
Aaron Keown
City Vision
...Since being elected to the Community Board I suffered much tragedy when my mother was killed by boyracers 2 years ago. My promise to you is to make the streets of Christchurch much safer by taking a zero tolerance to crime.
........................Gee these two should get some snazzy skin tight costumes and start a crime fighting group...
Keown seems to think he's running for Sheriff, and omits to mention his Elvis Impersonating business, that has pasted their posters all over public and private property in the past - or that he was an ACT candidate in the last General Election.
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Karl Varley
Independent Citizens
...He has gained international acclaim breaking a Guinness World Record by kicking through 30 Baseball bats in under 60 seconds.He needs to work that into a 'cutting through red tape' advert. Money baby, money!
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Hello
whilst we might not quite match Christchurch we do have Walter Wi-Peri running for councillor in Maungakiekie-Tamaki. According to the candidate information, Mr Wi-Peri has...
"been granted patent rights by the New Zealand Patents Office for a mathematical ready reckoner that calculates winning tickets"
As such Mr Wi-Peri believes himself to be in position to
"monopolize the game of housie for the benefit of charities, medical services and electioneering helpful purposes"
Mr Wi-Peri is founder and treasurer of the Total Colours including Europeans Party.
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What about some suggestions for candidates worth voting for?
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I'd like to hear from/about centres besides Auckland and Chch. Is there a mayoral race of any kind in -- for example -- Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga ... ?
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The thing about the ballot papers that struck me was just how many candidates there are. The number of bods running for mayor of auckland runs well into double figures. I've heard of roughly four of them.
Beat that for crazy, Auckland.
Well, I'm undecided as to whether to give my vote to Annalucia Vermunt (Communist League), or Phil O'Connor (Christians against abortion).
Decisions, decisions....
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I'd like to hear from/about centres besides Auckland and Chch. Is there a mayoral race of any kind in -- for example -- Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga ... ?
Dunedin is largely having an election about the stadium, with rates rises and debt tagged along behind.
Major mayoral candidates are existing mayor Chin, and opponents Dave Cull and Lee Vandervis - both from the council. There's going to be some strong voting along pro/anti- stadium lines. The anti people are very vocal and active, I'm not sure if their votes will be enough to knock off Chin when he's got two substantial candidates opposing him to split the votes.
We're also STV voting for city council, which makes it quite a bit of work. My large ward has 11 seats, but 39 candidates so you can put up to 39 numbers. I gave up at 16 or 17... after that they were either unelectable or I didn't have enough information to differentiate between them.
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I'm undecided as to whether to give my vote to Annalucia Vermunt (Communist League)
Interesting that someone claims they
champions struggles against racism and for the rights of women, Maori, and immigrants
Yet in the same breath
oppose NZ government bullying of Pacific nations like Fiji
I don't see the current Fiji government doing a lot for the struggles she champions
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"Keown seems to think he's running for Sheriff, and omits to mention his Elvis Impersonating business, that has pasted their posters all over public and private property in the past - or that he was an ACT candidate in the last General Election."
You forgot to mention that Keown is also a stripper, so he may be happy just wearing his superdick undies without the pants underneath...
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ETA: Can I save everyone being bored to sobs, and just confirm the Herald and North Shore throwaway rags aren't even trying?
And several head desk combos as well: Yes. At least for Granny. Not being from the Shore I don't know about them.
It would help me and all my fellow candidates of whatever persuasion if Granny were to engage in a little Civics Education 101 for starters and secondly, explain to voters what exactly has changed in this new arrangement (hint: geography has something to do with it). Apart from that big change, pretty much everything is the 'same' i.e. you still vote for a Mayor, a Councillor and some warm bodies for the "community board" (Local Board in the new parlance). And you still have a postal ballot i.e. something is mailed to you which you have to mail back.
Granny hasn't, nor has Dept Internal Affairs either, which makes for suburbs full of confused voters. Meeting voters I constantly get this slight panicked and confused look, which on investigation turns out to be that they know something's changed, and assume everything's changed. Well, yes it has, but we don't have 20 mins, so I say "Noooo, not really...it's still the same postal ballot, with votes for mayor etc - just the area has changed."
Apart from that, it's been an interesting campaign. You can vote for me if you like (if you are in the Waitemata Ward), and you can read more about me at this site which handily has other candidate profiles as well.
But really, at the end of the day, I would prefer that you actually VOTE for someone - anyone you choose - that is tick some circles and fill in some numbers (STV voting for the Health Board), and mail the ballot back.
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