What’s the Right’s plan for Auckland 2013?

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, January 10th, 2013 - 55 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, local body elections - Tags:

It’s 9 months until polls close in the 2013 local body elections.

Len Brown has just been rated the 7th best mayor in the world. He failed the wharfies, but its not looking like there’ll be a big challenge to his Left.

So, who’s going to stand up from the Right? 9 months is no time to get the brand recognition needed to take the most powerful political job in the country outside Cabinet’s top 5 but there’s no sign of a frontrunner on the Right.

It might fall to Brewer, who’s got no shot. He was only the 5th highest polling councillor.

Where’s the real opponent, the candidate with the mana that Banks used to have?

Does no-one on the Right want to run because they’re sure to lose?

Meanwhile, the Left can concentrate on running winning campaigns for its council candidates.

Come 2014, with any luck we’ll have a Left government and a Left Auckland Council. Scary prospect for the Right, yet they seem to be running up the white flag already.

55 comments on “What’s the Right’s plan for Auckland 2013? ”

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  1. shorts 1
    10 January 2013 at 9:38 am

    can Banks not run again?

  2. higherstandard 2
    10 January 2013 at 9:40 am

    “Does no-one on the Right want to run because they’re sure to lose?”

    Ummm do you live in the Auckland region ?

    At present Satan, whether he chose to run on a left or right platform, would have a better than average chance in beating Len Brown – he is widely despised as a useless toad interested in little more than his own profile and continued bleeding of the long suffering ratepayer.

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      10 January 2013 at 9:45 am

      But you must love the cost savings of National/ACTs Supercity, right?

      • higherstandard 2.1.1
        10 January 2013 at 10:12 am

        I am on record as saying that the only thing that was ensured with the supercity was an increase in rates…….. although that was not a very hard prediction to get correct.

    • felixviper 2.2
      10 January 2013 at 10:08 am

      “At present Satan, whether he chose to run on a left or right platform, would have a better than average chance in beating Len Brown”

      Already tried that in 2010 and he got a pasting.

      • higherstandard 2.2.1
        10 January 2013 at 10:15 am

        Really ?

        I didn’t bother voting as I couldn’t stomach the candidates on offer, if Satan was on the ballot I’m pretty sure he would’ve got most people’s vote in preference to Brown, Banks, Craig and Williams.

        • mike e vipe e 2.2.1.1
          10 January 2013 at 11:25 am

          HS Thats a crying shame we on the left opposed Nationals and Rodney Hides roughshod job of overruling the democratic process .
          Thank you for belated support!
          It’s time you changed horses our horse is not lame and delivers the policy not just hollow promises of the right!

          • higherstandard 2.2.1.1.1
            10 January 2013 at 2:43 pm

            Thanks for the offer Mike but I tend to avoid being a member of either team as I find they’re chocka with self serving twats and I have enough of those to deal with at one of my places of employ.

        • Northshoreguynz 2.2.1.2
          10 January 2013 at 8:15 pm

          Don’t vote, then you have no say, so f off.

          • higherstandard 2.2.1.2.1
            10 January 2013 at 8:19 pm

            I pay rates therefore I am more than entitled to my say …. and I say Len Brown is a mendacious sack of shite.

            • felixviper 2.2.1.2.1.1
              10 January 2013 at 8:27 pm

              Everyone pays rates hs. But that aside, how can you be more than entitled to your say?

              • higherstandard …
                11 January 2013 at 6:53 am

                I live in the auckland area and am a ratepayer (residential and business) therefore I am more than entitled to have my say than someone who does not live in the Auckland area.

            • mike e vipe e 2.2.1.2.1.2
              10 January 2013 at 8:48 pm

              so why stop there HS what about Key and Banks

    • mickysavage 2.3
      10 January 2013 at 11:08 am

      Um HS beg to disagree …

      The Right have not been able to agree on a Mayoral candiate. I hear the ranks of Citizens and Ratepayers is not a happy place to be right now.

      I am not surprised. Their councillors resemble more a collection of tea party members than a coherent political grouping.

      The big test this election will be what happens to council positions such as in Whau and Papakura where a change to the left could fundamentally change the balance.

      • Another Viper 2.3.1
        10 January 2013 at 12:25 pm

        A great opportunity for Labour to now run in non City Vision wards as … Wait for it……

        LABOUR.

      • higherstandard 2.3.2
        10 January 2013 at 2:18 pm

        My comment if you choose to read it again was that any candidate of the left or right would be deemed preferable by most Aucklanders compared to the odious twit Len Brown.

        I couldn’t give a flying fuck whether they are of the far left or far right as long as they have some semblance of ability, planning, honesty and are able to stop screwing over the region as has been the case during Len’s term.

        I do realise you don’t give a toss about Auckland and are only interested in whether your perceived “team” is the winner.

        • Another Viper 2.3.2.1
          10 January 2013 at 4:20 pm

          Inference being that pushing a Party brand is a selfish act?
          E.g Running a Green brand in the General Election is in the interest of the Green Party rather than the country?

          Mmm….,feeling a big sanctimonious today?

        • onsos 2.3.2.2
          10 January 2013 at 5:26 pm

          Where do you get this from? Just a gut feeling? Or is there a poll out there that derides Brown’s chances?

    • Tracey 2.4
      11 January 2013 at 12:14 pm

      “widely despised”? Really? Source?

      Brewer is heading for parliament, a tilt at the mayorlty, win or lose might raise is worth in that regard?

  3. karol 3
    10 January 2013 at 9:42 am

    I was in the newly gerrymandered Whau Board last election. There was a problem that this board, encompassing some of Cunliffe’s New Lynn electorate, didn’t really put up an obvious left wing candidate. I would suggest this is rectified for the coming elections. There was a much better coordinated campaign for the rest of the west via Future West.

    Just for retrospective consideration, 2010 final results:

    Mayor

    Wards and local Boards.

  4. andy (the other one) 4
    10 January 2013 at 10:23 am

    Cameron Brewer has been running for the last couple of years hasn’t he?

    He regularily feeds tales of waste and excess to granny Herald..

    /sacasm

    • ghostwhowalksnz 4.1
      10 January 2013 at 4:03 pm

      The guy is been a leech on the taxpayer for years. First he was an ratepayer funded aide to Banks in his first mayoral term, and when he lost he worked for Rodney Hide but was paid by the taxpayer. Then he got a ratepayer funded job at the newmarket |business association , until a job as a councillor.

      hes only happy with council spending when hes the one spending up large

    • Tracey 4.2
      11 January 2013 at 12:50 pm

      agreed, which is why the tilt at mayorlty will only be as part of a wider strategy into parliament, must have been right pissed off when the boy in nappies got in ahead of him.

  5. tc 5
    10 January 2013 at 10:36 am

    The game’s rigged, Rortneys supershity make the Mayor a largely ceremonial position.

    Whoever runs from the right will be well backed and compensated but I don’t think they’ll be expected to do more than wave the blue flag and let Brown go back and continue to be outflanked and outgunned by the design quirks Rortney was told to rollout.

    My money’s on Banksey Jnr, Cammy boy. The MSM have been garnering his profile with the mock outrage at rates rises, expenses and other stuff to look tough and out for the ratepayer. Fletcher will probably go on the ticket as Goldy boy failed to get on a board and is now comfy as in the Epsom seat.

    Brown has been weak and showed over POA he ain’t the messiah, not even close.

  6. tamati 6
    10 January 2013 at 10:51 am

    I think a better question is who is going to stand up for the left? Len Brown is just another TINA neo-lib who takes advantage of left wingers.

    Isn’t it about time Helen Kelly made a debut into elected politics?

    • Dr Terry 6.1
      10 January 2013 at 11:12 am

      tamati – a very good question, plus a very good suggestion!

    • King Kong 6.2
      10 January 2013 at 11:37 am

      Helen Keller would have better vision and could hear what people actually want.

      • QoT 6.2.1
        10 January 2013 at 7:26 pm

        Hahaha it’s funny because Helen Keller had disabilities so she wasn’t very good at anything, LOL!!!!

        🙄

        I wonder if KK even realises just how ironic hir comment is …

        • KevC. 6.2.1.1
          11 January 2013 at 7:42 pm

          QoT I think you should review your comment that Helen Keller “…wasn’t very good at anything…” Yes she had disabilities [she was deaf blind] but she became an author, was a political activist and demonstrating a keen intelligence became a socialist. Here’s a link to wikipedia for you to follow
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_keller
          Incidentally, having a disability does not necessarily mean a person cannot be good at anything.

      • Tracey 6.2.2
        11 January 2013 at 12:49 pm

        She is known in New Zealand as Judith Collins

    • Fortran 6.3
      10 January 2013 at 1:41 pm

      Assume Annette King will stand in Wellington mayoralty leaving Rongotai for Helen Kelly who will make a refreshing new MP.

    • ad 6.4
      10 January 2013 at 5:17 pm

      Mayor Brown is, like Obama, necessarily a centrist apart from specific opportunities. Don’t forget that while the current government has been legislating local government’s coherence and ambit and power away really fast over the last year, Brown has cut hard against that with the Auckland Plan and a 10 year funding plan. I would put it to you that Brown has done more for expanding the public sphere, within a hostile central government, than anyone else on the left in the last 6 years.

    • Rogue Trooper 6.5
      10 January 2013 at 6:27 pm

      leave a gap at the CTU but

      • TiggerViper 6.5.1
        11 January 2013 at 1:53 pm

        Kelly cannot win Rongotai. She’s an unpalatble candidate and unelectable. Little has been sniffing around the seat also after failing to take New Plymouth. If King leaves (if!) and Councillor Paul Eagle wants the nomination then it should be his. He’s proved he can get out the vote in that area and he’s fresh Beehive blood that Labour desperately needs.

  7. NoseViper (The Nose knows) 7
    10 January 2013 at 11:07 am

    Len Brown seems to be able to talk the talk but seems inflexible on some things, not open to discussion or reconsideration. But it’s likely that the supershitty will become more management oriented, decisions from the top, user pays etc. It’s too big to fall over thing. Who is for the ordinary person – community boards?

    • mickysavage 7.1
      10 January 2013 at 11:12 am

      I think it will be similar to the US election this time. Lefties will decide that Brown is OK and that his vision for the city is good and they will rally behind him. If the right wing put up a candidate he will be far too scary to countenance. Things like the inner city loop are far too important to not do.

      Having said that there is still some grumpiness with Len over issues such as POAL and he must do better.

      • karol 7.1.1
        10 January 2013 at 11:13 am

        I have been impressed by what I’ve seen of Penny Hulse (deputy mayor) on Citizen A. But I know little else about her politics. Is she a continuing left prospect for the future?

        • mickysavage 7.1.1.1
          10 January 2013 at 12:53 pm

          Penny IMHO has been remarkably good and I am sure she will stand again. She has even voted against Len a couple of times on issues that matter such as the Council response to the POAL dispute.

          The Mayoralty is a big deal though. To mount an effective campaign someone needs half a million plus in the bank and the support of one of the major parties. I cannot imagine anyone succeeding if they are unable to achieve both of these. The logistics of campaigning region wide would otherwise be far too much.

      • andy (the other one) 7.1.2
        10 January 2013 at 11:23 am

        I have a feeling the CitRats are going to put up a weak candidate with the ultimate goal being 2016 elections, I think that as opposed to Higher standard above, people realise Brown inherited a lot of issues and may give him 3 more years.

        Cam Brewer needs to get a better profile and start selling an alternative vision instead of just being anti everything Len says. Or he is waiting for that Epsom seat….

  8. BJ 8
    10 January 2013 at 11:27 am

    Newsflash – Len Brown is a right wing candidate. Who opened the speaking order at the national party conference this year? Len Brown. Who refused to stand up for port workers in the face of their getting fucked by a council-owned company? Len Brown. Who stands idly by, and even worse has community members forced out of meetings regarding the issue, while families are evicted and state houses stolen from Glen Innes? Len Brown. We need a real candidate of the left, preferably not Penny Bright this time.

    • Lightly 8.1
      10 January 2013 at 3:10 pm

      the mayor of the host city opened the Nats’ conference – as is traditional for labour and nat conferences

  9. Anne 9
    10 January 2013 at 1:11 pm

    Who opened the speaking order at the national party conference this year? Len Brown.

    BJ, it is traditional for the mayor of a city that is hosting a major political party conference to open that conference. In the past, Labour conferences have been opened by Nat. supporting mayors.

  10. ad 10
    10 January 2013 at 5:20 pm

    What’s the Left’s plan for Auckland 2013?

  11. millsy 11
    10 January 2013 at 11:16 pm

    Len Brown should scrape home, not that he really deserves to, I really dont see him all committed to the provision of things like parks, pools, libraries, halls, etc. Plus he needs to take those buses ‘in house’. Plus I think he’s a bit socially conservative.

    The thing is, these local body candidates dont really say that they stand for apart from ‘rates should be kept down’ (without saying what services they will cut to achieve that).

    Political parties need to start standing candidates in elections and drawing up manifestos to campaign on. I want to have a choice between a Labour candidate who promises to keep our libaries open, an ACT candidate who wants to close them all down and a Green candidate who wants to give everyone a free recycling bin.

  12. alex 12
    11 January 2013 at 11:44 am

    Why would they bother running a candidate when the waterfront debacle showed they can just co-opt Len Brown into being their stooge?

  13. Pascal's bookie 13
    11 January 2013 at 12:46 pm

    Not seeing any suggestions from the resident righties.

  14. The Urban Maori 14
    11 January 2013 at 2:43 pm

    Like it or not guys Len Brown is staying mayor.
    Otahuhu and South Auckland carried him to victory and he knows community better than pretty much any candidate that the Right and probably even the Left can field.

    BTW, Otahuhu technically isn’t South Auckland but gets counted as Southside when it appears in the news for something bad.

  15. gnomic 15
    11 January 2013 at 11:41 pm

    John Banks had mana? Nope, I think not. Never ever ever. He had the support of the rest of his crew, the people who make jobs supposedly, and the moneybags gang to some extent, but mana, you must be joking surely? The guy is certifiable imho, and anybody with half a clue would be aware of that. So they would just have been be hoping to steer him to do what they wanted. Can you spell crazy puppet?

  16. unicus 16
    12 January 2013 at 7:09 pm

    Len would have been sunk without the regional knowledge of Mike Lee and Sandra Coney . Lee and Coney provided the only brains and ability in a council dominated by a shower of clueless yobs dredged up from the old territorial authorities and an array of down at heel ex MPs and mayors . In the face of the active opposition and perenial bastardry of the National Party and its excruciating government Lee and Coney bought to the supercity the fifty year history of acheivement and learning by Aucklands only successful local govenment authority – the ARC

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