Wade-Brown with a chance to beat Prendergast

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 13 comments
Categories: local body elections - Tags: ,

Everyone had pretty much assumed that Kerry Prendergast was a sure thing to win another term as Wellington’s mayor – meaning another terms of parks being turned into concrete wastelands and favours for property developers. But a Dompost poll shows Celia Wade-Brown is in the hunt. With a small gap and low turn-out every vote matters – so cast yours for Wade-Brown today.

The poll puts Wade-Brown at 25% to Prendergast’s 33%. Bryan Pepperall, a councillor and perinnel losing left candidate for mayor, is on 8% and Jack Yan, who was 12th on the Alliance list last election, is on 9%. Wellington uses STV so if we assume that these numbers represent the proportion of voters who will give their first ranking to each candidate, and that Pepperall and Yan voters are more likely to support Wade-Brown with their lower votes, then the race is even tighter.

So, Wellington, this is your chance to get rid of a dreadful mayor who has only survived because of a fractured opposition. Give Wade-Brown your number 1 and don’t rank Prendergast at all.

You have until 12 noon on Saturday to get your voting papers in.

13 comments on “Wade-Brown with a chance to beat Prendergast ”

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  1. Ed 1
    4 October 2010 at 4:05 pm

    Local body elections continue to be marred by too many people knowing little other than to vote for whoever they have ever heard of before. The Standard provided a service by identifying left-leaning candidates in Auckland, but elsewhere it remains chance.

    In Wellington, some candidates for Council have learned to also stand for Mayor as this gives at least a bit of publicity – enough usually to get voted to Council – but it makes for a less enlightened vote for Mayor. One candidate (John Bishop) carefully used a card coloured blue at the top and a slightly larger red area at the bottom – I heard one person saying that on that basis she thought he was Labour . .

    Even with only one week to go, a voting guide to all local elections would be useful. With STV, there is an opportunity to work together to get more of our people elected.

  2. rich 2
    4 October 2010 at 4:28 pm

    There also seems to be a dedicated effort by almost all the candidates to blur their policies in an effort to be all things to everybody.

    Even Celia Wade-Brown doesn’t identify as a Green despite having been a Green councillor for several years.

    • outofbed 2.1
      4 October 2010 at 9:24 pm

      Celia Wade Brown not identifying as Green?
      Er She may not be running as a Green but she certainly identifies as a Green
      On Back benchers the other night she was introduced as a member of the Green Party
      Celia is more centre then left I would say but she is a fine candidate and Wellys best hope of getting rid of KP
      And light rail to the Airport instead of a flyover over the basin reserve??

      if you like Jack or Brian the best put Celia Wade Brown as down as no 2

  3. Southernrata 3
    4 October 2010 at 4:45 pm

    According to Leagle Beagle you have a better chance of displacing someone if you rank them last and rank everyone else before them

    http://publicaddress.net/default,6872.sm#post6872

  4. BLiP 4
    4 October 2010 at 5:09 pm

    Banks and Prendergast slung out of office . . . ooooh, stop it . . . it tickles.

  5. The Baron 5
    4 October 2010 at 5:48 pm

    “…who was 12th on the Alliance list last election…”

    Which means his chance of getting into Parliament approximates that of your average sea sponge. What a claim to fame.

  6. Ian 6
    4 October 2010 at 5:57 pm

    I have given Wade Brown my No1 and haven’t ranked the right wing idiot at all. I really can’t think of a single useful thing Prendergast has done for Wellington.

  7. Bored 7
    4 October 2010 at 6:25 pm

    There have been a number of “polls”, a few weeks back there was a poll running in the Dom asking who would vote which way which had Pepperel leading Wade Brown and Prendergast by miles…these “polls” obviously did not send the right message and were “dissappeared”. What we have seen from Saturdays headline story is an attempt to get the voters in Wellington to make it a two horse race by discounting a couple of other contenders as “too far back”. Its the MSM attempt to favour their choice, basically Kerry or Little Kerry.

    If you think because she is a Green, Brown is naturally a lefty I would suggest that her voting record on council would indicate her to be “centre right” at best, she has supported Prendergast solidly for too long. She did not get my vote.

    Those who want rid of Kerry need to not give her a preference, even 5, as that counts as more than 0.

  8. a human 8
    5 October 2010 at 10:59 am

    With Local body elections i have often thought, is it not a little wierd that the media can report on the ongoing ballot count of an election?

    Does that not screw with the ‘natural’ result of the voters choices. The machinary that the public have working against them just gets ratcheted one way or another and the manipulation is obvious.

    If it is ok for daily tallies during a Local Body Election, why not have hourly updates during a General Election

    yes i am being a little silly but the point is not. Why do we allow this corruption of the vote ?

    • prism 8.1
      5 October 2010 at 11:09 am

      Good point. I have wondered about this, seems to interfere with the integrity of decision making.

      • a human 8.1.1
        5 October 2010 at 1:29 pm

        just found this article on infonews
        http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=58791

        there are many aspects that can safely be reported during a long voting period, but ‘exit polls’ and any variant thereof is blatantly open to manipulation and corruption which not only skews but completely distorts the democratic process

  9. Kahikatea 9
    5 October 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Legal Beagle is right that the best way to vote against someone is to rank everyone and put that person at the bottom. However, The Standard’s advice to vote for Celia and not rank Kerry at all is probably just as good in this case (Celia will almost certainly be in the top 2, and if she’s in the top 2 then it doesn’t matter whether you rank anyone after her or not).

    Bored’s comment that ranking Kerry Prendergast at number 5 ‘counts more than 0’ is complete bulls**t. Mathematically, the two wiould have exactly the same effect.

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