Celia seizes victory

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1. millsy 1

   13 October 2010 at 7:34 pm

   Awesome result, for Wellington, Celia, and the Green Party – to grab a mayoralty is a pretty good acheivement for any small party.

   As for Kerry, expect to see her on a quango in the next year, or failing that, the National Party List

   Anti-spam word: transport – it appears that people in the main centres are rejecting the concept of roads, roads and more roads.
   • Tigger 1.1

     13 October 2010 at 7:44 pm

     Wasn’t she on the Nat list last election?
   • Vicky32 1.2

     14 October 2010 at 5:02 pm

     John Key has already expressed an interest in Ms Prenderghastly… I heard this morning. 🙁
2. kriswgtn 2

   13 October 2010 at 7:34 pm

   Excellent just excellent

   Wellington is finally rid of the cow

   NO more waste of RATEPAYERS $ on sculptures woohooooo

   Now to stop the Manners Street desecration
   • rosy 2.1

     13 October 2010 at 7:51 pm

     It’s probably too late to stop the nightmare that will be Manners St. I’ve no idea how she thinks shared space in south Cuba St will compensate. But the sculptures is probably the one thing I have really appreciated.
   • Marty G 2.2

     13 October 2010 at 7:54 pm

     it was Prendergast obsession with turning every grassed area into ‘tidy’ concrete that I hated the most.
   • Alwyn 2.3

     14 October 2010 at 3:08 pm

     That isn’t likely to change anyway.
     C W-B voted in favour of what they are currently doing in Manners St.
3. Anonymous 3

   13 October 2010 at 7:58 pm

   One small problem… how does barely scraping a victory so close that the result hinged on just a few special votes qualify as a landslide? I’m pleased Kerry’s gone, but don’t kid yourself – this wasn’t a landslide, not by a long shot.
   • Colonial Viper 3.1

     13 October 2010 at 9:38 pm

     You may have missed the point – Prendergast was supposed to be a shoe in. C-B was supposed to be a distant also ran.

     Sure, the fact that C-B overtook Prendergast only narrowly means that it was no landslide, but it sure was a huge swing.
   • Marty G 3.2

     13 October 2010 at 11:01 pm

     the landslide was nationwide. a huge swing nationwide that even saw Prendergast unseated.

     and take a look at the councilors who have been elected around the place. a lot of leftwing majorities.
     • nzfp 3.2.1

       14 October 2010 at 3:37 pm

       Hey Marty,
       Would you please post a link to the lists of councillors elected nation wide?

       Cheers ears
4. phil 4

   13 October 2010 at 8:01 pm

   Our household is very happy with Ms Wade-Brown’s election however I disagree with the above post on sculptures, I like the sculptures around Wellington!

   Manner’s Mall is way too late, they’re half finished! I hope one day we have regular and affordable trams travelling up and done it instead.
5. mummybot 5

   13 October 2010 at 8:31 pm

   YES!
6. freedom 6

   13 October 2010 at 9:08 pm

   it’s the uncelebrated office equipment i feel sorry for ,
   can you imagine how hard the shredders will be working?

   ding dong the witch is gone

   finally Wellington has a new mayor
7. mickysavage 7

   13 October 2010 at 9:25 pm

   There is only one thing that I want to say …

   Woohoo !!!!
8. burt 8

   13 October 2010 at 9:39 pm

   This is a good result. A cyclist Mayor… about bloody time.
   • NickS 8.1

     13 October 2010 at 11:18 pm

     Question, how bad are the roads in Wellington for cyclists at present? Chch is not so brilliant, but car drivers have become somewhat better natured, which while we really need more bike lanes on the main roads and maintenance work, it’s not as bad as it once was. Bar SUV drivers, oversized trucks and the odd tourist/ignorant morons who think bikes don’t have any rights on the road or can’t keep their car in the centre of the lane and come far too close for comfort.

     Oh for a bike mountable mini-missile launcher.
     • burt 8.1.1

       14 October 2010 at 12:38 am

       Not bad, the busses are a lot better than a few years back. Car and 4WD drivers who can’t keep to the centre of the lane is the big one, particularly on narrow steep streets they are the enemy in Wellington. There are more and more mountain bike tracks linking between areas in Wellington now, I have several off road options I can ride up or down my hill when cycle commuting.
     • Sam Vilain 8.1.2

       14 October 2010 at 4:50 pm

       It’s mostly OK, but there are some stretches which have just escaped all cycle planning. eg, SH2 going out to Petone has a cycle lane but you can’t get onto it going North and it is bumpy and glassy. Also, the Mt. Victoria tunnel is awful to ride through and no easy way to get onto the pedestrian lane if you’re coming from the East. I’m sure others know about annoyances that affect them too…
       • KJT 8.1.2.1

         14 October 2010 at 5:15 pm

         I regularly cycle in most of the cities and Wellington is by far the worst. Especially the truck drivers in Petone who seem to think you are a target. Auckland drivers are just blind not malicious. Christchurch generally pretty good.
9. infused 9

   13 October 2010 at 10:26 pm

   God you’re an idiot.
   • burt 9.1

     13 October 2010 at 10:49 pm

     I don’t give a shit about the politics of the Mayor to be honest. Their budget effects my rates and their outputs effects my living environment. If they are good at their job their is a correlation between the money taken and the money well spent. We get no bloody say in what they actually do with it in real terms so bugger me, if the Mayor rides a bike and I ride a bike then having a cyclist Mayor is good for me.

     If I believed that a Mayor’s political ideology had a direct factor in the correlation between rates increases and value for money spending then I’d care about their persuasion, I put more weight in the quality of the person as a leader to deliver on that equation. I would think pretty carefully before claiming the left has a monopoly on good leadership.
     • Colonial Viper 9.1.1

       14 October 2010 at 1:11 am

       I would think pretty carefully before claiming the left has a monopoly on good leadership.

       Only a monopoly on leadership dedicated to serving the many, not the few, nor the corporate interests. At least, that’s the idea, its clearly not always borne out in practice.
       • burt 9.1.1.1

         14 October 2010 at 9:06 am

         Yes the great left leaning communist leaders did soo much for their people didn’t they. Dim-bulb.
10. Robert Atack 10

    13 October 2010 at 10:52 pm

    “The people” will wake up soon enough to discover it doesn’t matter if the mayor is left or right, this economic s storm hasn’t even started yet, Celia’s light rail network will never materialize, at best we will get more soup kitchens, and bike racks.
    As National has to start scaling back the size of parliament, we may see more vacant buildings and closed coffee shops, Wellingtons best days have gone, regardless of who is mayor.
    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      14 October 2010 at 1:13 am

      I suppose this is what you get for living in a country where per capita GNP is going to the dog house while debt per capita is going through the roof and asset wealth inequality is skewing more to the rich day by day.
    • Bored 10.2

      14 October 2010 at 7:53 am

      Robert, a little more positivity please. If you are saying that the end of the oil age and the era of financial primacy ending is also the end of a “good Wellington” I say get with the programme. Yes a lot of hard times will come but we can make it both bearable and an opportunity to rebuild our arrangements. A Mayoress on a bicycle is a good start. From little seeds big trees grow.
      • Robert Atack 10.2.1

        14 October 2010 at 12:20 pm

        I would love to ‘get with the program’ were do I sign up?
        It takes e n e r g y to ‘rebuild our arrangements’ and as the latest word out from the govt says we are now entering the world of less available energy, and considering a lot of the energy we use now is already spoken for read – food production, heating etc. Where is all this rebuild energy going to come from?
        Wellington is an energy hungry city, dependent on pumped water for one thing, law and order will not function as well when the cops can’t get to where they are needed.
        Peak oil is going to blast us back into the stone age, a mayoress on a bike will just be an easy target, I bet you (if you had a name) Celia will not be so visible when this shit storm arrives, she may have to get around in an armour plated Hummer.
        • Bored 10.2.1.1

          14 October 2010 at 12:37 pm

          Your comment on likely outcomes are all probable. Very depressing but there is an alternative.

          Getting with the programme is a personal thing, its about making positive choices to do what little you can do as an individual to change things. It is connecting with disbelievers and getting them on board. It is supporting any part of the establishment that can be co-opted. It is abandoning those institutions and practices that are the “problem”. It is supporting those who can help, it is helping those who need help. Its over to you as an individual to set the programme.

          The alternative is to sit on our hands, say we are fucked and await our doom. Thats the alternative programme.
11. Jagilby 11

    14 October 2010 at 11:15 am

    I fail to see how this can be seen as a “swing to the left” and how it’s so bad for National.

    Didn’t Labour win seats (pretty much its only seats) in the main centres?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NZ_2008_election_night_map.png

    Drop the spin BS, it’s clear this isn’t a swing. The left won in traditional left strongholds.
    If anything you should be gutted you lost Chch.
    • William 11.1

      14 October 2010 at 11:51 am

      It was a big swing against Prendegast and she is definitely not on the left..
      In 2004 she had a majority of 8887 after 6 iterations. There were six candidates.
      In 2007 she had a majority of 10969 after 9 iterations. There were 11 candidates.
      In 2010 she lost by 176 after 5 iterations. There were six candidates.
      Her previous large majorities disappeared and that can’t all be due to a sudden dislike of her.
      • Colonial Viper 11.1.1

        14 October 2010 at 12:18 pm

        Polluting the discussion with facts, William?
      • Sam Vilain 11.1.2

        14 October 2010 at 5:21 pm

        But Kerry didn’t get a majority vote in 2007; she was in that area where STV gives up on trying to get 50% and just gives it to the person with the most votes; in the last round there were:

        * 21,868 votes for Kerry: 17,910 “1” votes, 98 who would have preferred Nick Wang, 102 who preferred Nick Kelly, 217 who preferred Paul Bailey, 194 who preferred Carl Gifford, 753 who preferred Jon McGraph, 651 who preferred Rob Goulden, 591 who preferred Jack Ruben and 1352 who preferred Helene Ritchie.
        * 10,899 votes total for Ray Ahipene-Mercer
        * 10,125 votes total for Bryan Pepperell
        * 8,436 excluded votes – none of the above three were ranked

        STV tries to ensure that the candidate it selects has 50% of the voters supporting it in the supporting round – but as you can see, here only 42% of the valid vote was actually for Kerry, but that was more than the 41% of total people who voted for the runners-up. The other 17% didn’t count. In essence, Kerry won to avoid the deadlock of no-one winning.

        Of course, only 40% of people eligible to vote voted. And only 70% of people were eligible to vote. This is how Kerry got in as mayor with votes from only ~11% of the population!
12. Robert Atack 12

    14 October 2010 at 12:02 pm

    The scary thing about Brown and her green m8s is they actually think 350 ppm is a go. When reality is we will see 450 ppm (taking into account the methane conversion) in the child born today’s life time. … except that child well be long gone @ 3 degrees, which is also the death of the Amazon (not the book shop)
    We are locked into a 6 degree temp rise = extinction of all most everything.
    This lecture is well worth listening to http://metageny.com/peakoil/GuyMcPhersonLVLPeakOil9-28-2010.WAV … unless you want to believe Celia and co are right that is.
    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      14 October 2010 at 12:05 pm

      You can have a go at Celia, but what better alternatives are you suggesting for Wellington local government. Any?
      • Bored 12.1.1

        14 October 2010 at 12:14 pm

        Thanks for the question CV, to Robert I dont disagree with anything you state, its 6 degrees locked in unless we act. To act we need to start somewhere, lets not lose some political traction at the moment we get some. A “Green” mayoress (and yes I too am dubious about the depth of her greeness) is a good start.
    • toad 12.2

      14 October 2010 at 4:59 pm

      The scary thing about Robert Atack is that he is all Attack and no Answers.

      Enlightened comments such as:

      Having a gun and plenty of ammunition sounds extreme, but may well prove a wise precaution.

      on his website don’t add to the credibility.
      • Robert Atack 12.2.1

        14 October 2010 at 6:02 pm

        What answer is there toad?
        After 10 years of looking into this stuff, or more relevantly the peoples reaction to the information, I think I can be confident that what I am saying is right.
        http://oilcrash.com/articles/struggle.htm … I didn’t write this to blow my own trumpet, but to show what lengths someone can go to and still not be noticed.
        It is not just me that has come to this conclusion, nearly every ‘peakest’ knows how nearly everyone they know or meet goes into denial, or ‘do nothing’ acceptance, I am one of the biggest fools I know, from the beginning I thought if I could work out what was just beyond the horizon … by just reading essays on the net … then surly given the reams of information available so could our so called leaders, and I am not talking just the revolving (or should I say revolting) 120 MPs in Wellington. I’m talking leaders in every community, teachers, radio hosts etc.
        As Robert Hirsch* said “We have a people problem … the people do not want to know”
        We are no smarter than the Easter Islanders, like us they could see the limits to their existence, they just had to stand on a hill, we can look at a picture … both bloody simple.
        I think the more ‘good’ people we have armed the better it might be, at least in the beginning. We are going to have to become our own police men … and execut(ops sorry)
        Without law and order and a steady supply of food and water Wellington could look a lot different than it does in these fossil fueled hay days, it will not be us all riding around on push bikes saying “top of the morning” and it will not be dog eat dog cause we will have eaten them)
        Wellington is way better than Auckland or most other cities in the world, but post crash (which is what my site is about after all, not ‘come by yar’ crap) it will still be bloody difficult.
        Demanding I ‘produce’ an answer or bloody ‘credibility’ is just your way of denying the reality of life, grow up and do some reading.
        * Robert was one of the authors of the Hirsch Report … quoted several times in the latest report out from Parliament … The next oil shock?
        http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/4/6/a/00PLEco10041-The-next-oil-shock.htm
        I wonder if they passed this one under Steven ‘build more roads’ Joyce’s nose?
13. Robert Atack 13

    14 October 2010 at 12:37 pm

    It is 6 degrees regardless of what we do, currently ‘they’ say we are 30 years behind the damage we have already done (call it lag) 30 years = no ice
    We are 100% locked into 2 degrees (currently 1.7 up?) which will grow to 3 which will kill what is left of the Amazon, which will then lead to 6 degrees .
    The only thing we can do now to reduce suffering of humans, is quite simply to stop having them. Ouch, now I am sure you didn’t want to hear that)
    And least we forget the greens support Kiwi Saver = destruction of the environment, ‘we’ can’t have a retirement scam based on growth while living on a finite planet.
    I would think even a green party supporting mayor could work that out … I’m sure Celia has read Limits to Growth … then promptly forgot it, while pumping out what? 2 – 4 kids?
14. roger nome 14

    15 October 2010 at 9:09 am

    How can a woman in her mid-50s be so gorgeous?

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1. The Standard: posted on 13 October 2010 at 6:01 am

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