Written By: - Date published: 11:03 pm, October 9th, 2010 - 11 comments
Len’s in in Auckland, but it’s not just the man at the top the left can be happy with. Auckland may have provided a few new seats to National at the last general election, and Hide may have done his best to set up the SuperCity for his mates to win – but the Council doesn’t look so bad either. Add in the Local Boards, and it wasn’t a big day of celebration for the right.
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, October 9th, 2010 - 119 comments
It’s official, Len Brown is the first ever super city mayor. My congratulations to him and to his team who have worked so hard to get this result. It’s a great victory for the people. The Right thought they had stitched up Auckland very nicely with their undemocratic supercity but the people have rejected them …
Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, October 9th, 2010 - 59 comments
There are various good online sources for following the local body election results. Here’s a quick roundup.
Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, October 8th, 2010 - 40 comments
Labour candidate for the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board Daljit Singh has been named as one of two people charged over false voter registrations. This seems a pretty crude attempt at perverting an election and a stupid one that no sophisticated political player would ever think they could get away with.
Written By: - Date published: 3:35 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 86 comments
The alleged electoral roll fraud in Auckland has plenty of angles and dimensions for political junkies. But the underlying issue is simple. Electoral fraud of any kind is not OK, perpetrators should be found and prosecuted. We have one of the most robust and respected democracies in the world. Let’s keep it that way.
Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, October 6th, 2010 - 59 comments
As it goes down to the wire in Auckland, John Banks’ desperation is on full display. It’s not a pretty sight. Banks seem to have nothing to offer but negative campaigning, personal attacks, and South Auckland dogwhistles. He deserves to lose.
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 17 comments
The weekend headlines make it seem like Brown has the Auckland Mayoral election all but won. That’s an invitation to self-defeating complacency. Team Brown needs to keep up the hard work — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.
Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, October 2nd, 2010 - 25 comments
John Banks has made bashing South Auckland part of his campaign “strategy”. That didn’t work out so well for Melissa Lee, and it won’t work out so well for others that are now trying the same tactic…
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, October 1st, 2010 - 71 comments
John Banks has been slagging off South Auckland. Ooops. That’s the same mistake that Melissa Lee made in the Mt Albert by election. The same mistake deserves the same fate. Banks cannot credibly operate as mayor of the SuperCity.
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 17 comments
Matt McCarten’s website for who to pick for a progressive Super City is finally up. If you’re in Auckland and haven’t voted yet – make sure to have a look.
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, September 16th, 2010 - 9 comments
Two more Supercity polls. Brown ahead 29% v 17% in a Horizon poll. Herald’s Digipoll has it closer – 29.8% v 27.8%. Brown still ahead. Naturally, the Herald calls it too close to call. Looks like the Right’s plan for an Auckland coup is coming unstuck. Guess they’re lucky Labour and the Greens supported their nation-wide coup instead.
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, September 15th, 2010 - 28 comments
Momentum Recruitment is in the gun yet again, this time for placing a woman in an accounting firm when she did not have the qualifications she claimed. The fake accountant then went on to defraud the company Momentum had placed her with of $60,000. Momentum is the same company that placed fantasist Stephen Wilce in …
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, September 14th, 2010 - 30 comments
John Banks’ team really jumped the shark yesterday with their bizarre ‘poll tax’ attack on Len Brown. Banks claimed Brown was proposing a Thatcher-style poll tax to fund the Supercity instead of rates. Of course, Brown is proposing no such thing – he is saying we should look at replacing rates with income tax. Desperate, Banksie, desperate.
Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 13th, 2010 - 35 comments
In the lecture theatre that the Radio NZ SuperCity debate was held this morning Len Brown clearly and easily won – but how did it appear on radio?
Bill Ralston and his coterie did his best to even up the perceptions…
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, September 10th, 2010 - 14 comments
It’s been interesting to watch the Nats’ smear machine switch focus from Len Brown to Andrew Williams in recent days. I guess that’s what you get for letting Cameron Slater become your de facto chief strategist. Maybe the Nats have worked out that they’re not going to beat Brown. This article in the Herald certainly won’t help Banks one iota.
Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, August 28th, 2010 - 17 comments
Yet another broken promise on the Auckland Supercity, as ministers fail to consult on the directors of council-controlled organisations. Will The Herald stand by its earlier thundering editorial?
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, August 6th, 2010 - 16 comments
A story in the Heralds Sideswipe offers and interesting insight into veteran professional politician John Banks, and his priorities and social evolution. I’d suggest that women and any males who aren’t still living in the 19th century take note – and vote against the knuckle scraper.
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, August 4th, 2010 - 70 comments
Why in hell are John Banks and the irresponsible Citizens and Ratepayers dominated Auckland City Council giving me (as a ratepayer) the risks of rebuilding Eden Park. They (and I) already have more than enough risks to handle in the massive costs of the leaky building liabilities.
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, July 31st, 2010 - 16 comments
I know that The Herald likes to campaign for the Right, but surely this overdose of sucking up to “Banksie” sets new records?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 30th, 2010 - 24 comments
I’d vote Brown for Mayor of the Supercity. He got me with his first big policy announcement, to strengthen the role of local boards in Auckland.
That puts the ball in John Banks’ court. Will there a bidding war to restore local democracy?
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, July 27th, 2010 - 52 comments
John Key glibly admitted yesterday that the Supercity is “risky”. We’ve been saying it all along and the evidence is all that the Supercity will be expensive, unrepresentative, and unresponsive to local needs.
So, if it’s so risky, why the hell is Key doing it?
Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, July 14th, 2010 - 13 comments
John Banks has put his foot in it again, and his sanctimonious claims about ratepayers’ money are looking ever more hypocritical. But I don’t want to know how much other politicians are spending on flowers, I really don’t care. I think the pendulum has swung too far in terms of examining the minute of the spending of public figures.
Written By: - Date published: 1:06 pm, July 11th, 2010 - 5 comments
Minor bits of “people news” this weekend. Andrew Williams has thrown his hat in to the ring for Supercity Mayor. And Andy Haden has finally been fired resigned from his role as RWC Ambassador (exit stage right, still blaming the media).
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, July 11th, 2010 - 20 comments
“Why, if you are an international rugby fan, would you leave Eden Park and hop on a train, eschewing the delights of Kingsland’s cafes, going directly past the thriving night life of Ponsonby and taking a right on to a bleak windswept wharf instead of a left to the maelstrom that is the Viaduct?”
Indeed!
Written By: - Date published: 4:47 pm, July 7th, 2010 - 46 comments
I had to laugh at this comment by Mako about my least favorite wingnut… More desperate anti-Brown smearing from Slater. His latest allegation is that ‘Looney Len’ wants every school to plant 500 trees a year. A waste of our precious education budget! he wails. Child slave labour! he howls. ‘Surely one of his backers …
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, July 4th, 2010 - 41 comments
Things really are getting desperate for the Right in the super-mayor race. National and its allies keep up the attack but the public aren’t buying. Now, John Banks’ campaign is facing more right-wing candidates and is crapping itself that Stephen Tindell might enter the race.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, July 1st, 2010 - 34 comments
Desperate to gain some traction in his failing campaign, John Banks has floated the idea of Auckland hosting the Olympic Games in 2020. Current minimum estimates for the cost are $18 billion, that’s 10% of our GDP. It’s just too expensive. The Olympics is a black-hole for money that this country cannot afford. That Banks would suggest this nonsense shows how all at sea his campaign is.
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, June 29th, 2010 - 40 comments
I have very mixed feelings about all this scrutiny of the spending of public figures. However, for the record, Supercity mayoral hopeful John Banks now joins the spending club.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, June 28th, 2010 - 19 comments
Rule 1: Don’t compare yourself to Jesus in any way. Didn’t work for Lennon. Won’t work for you. Rule 2: Don’t keep talking about a negative issue once its reached a conclusion. Rule 3: If you’re going to reduce your entire campaign to smearing your opponent, you better make sure your own house is in order
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, June 25th, 2010 - 51 comments
With the supercity campaign of their handpicked man, John Banks, in tatters, the Nats have desperately tried to smear Len Brown. Now, the Auditor-General has found there is nothing to warrant investigation. I doubt we’ll be waiting long until the next smear will be from the Nats, because they sure as hell don’t have any other shot at winning.
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 pm, June 22nd, 2010 - 5 comments
John Banks’ supercity mayor campaign is failing. A month of smears hasn’t worked. The rot is so deep competition from the Right is emerging. The guy who spent $100 per marcher on on the anti-smacking march, Colin Craig, looks set to run. I’ve obtained a copy of the transcript of Banks’ call to Craig when he heard the news.
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