Mayoral candidates for the 2025 local election

All voters are asked to make a tick for the Mayor of the District. This is the most contested vacancy. Five candidates are competing for one spot. Only the Lakes-Murchison ward with three candidates for one vacancy comes somewhat close. The candidates were certainly busy with meetings, for the most part in the Moutere-Waimea ward. We went to all of these meetings and were admittedly tired from going there, listening and asking a question. But having a speed-dating like get-together with the same people and often very similar questions must have been a challenge for the candidates. We commend all the candidates - only Tim King missed two of the total of three Tasman Community Group meetings due to other commitments. If we counted right, there were two meetings for Lakes-Murchison, a further two in Richmond, two in Motueka, two in Golden Bay and seven in the Moutere-Waimea ward which adds up to 15 in total. All in about one and a half months.

We were certainly well versed in some of the speeches, statements or quotes and we guess the candidates would know their contestants’ words nearly as well as their own by the end of the meet the candidates events. The interesting thing about all these events (and someone else who chose to come to nearly all of them agreed) was to really get to see the various communities of the district and their different characteristics. And also: candidates would have noticed that the majority in the audience were older folk. We wonder whether politics has become a thing of the past? Or is the young generation getting their information mainly via other channels?

What is the Mayoralty about?

It certainly requires different skills as are required from Councillors. Yes, a Mayor is just as much required to read, understand, make up his mind and vote accordingly. But in addition to that, he has this very difficult task to steer the ship. That is within the council, within the community and in front of others, e.g. central government. This requires a range of skills - having the ability to speak to a variety of people but also being able to defend why decisions were made which may come to the expense of others. It requires advocacy skills for matters of the district. A people pleaser so to say. But how do you please people and make good and honest decisions at the same time?

The New Zealand curriculum uses both English and Maori descriptions for their subjects. The English translation of the Maori term for technology reads: “Don’t paddle out of unison or we will never reach the shore”. This is really what leadership requires: harnessing each individual’s strength so that a common goal or vision can be pursued and achieved. Without quashing one along the way. And this vision must be clear and well understood by all so that it can be aimed for.

Whilst it is great to refer to the amazing natural beauty and diversity of this district as enjoyable which attracts new residents and visitors alike, it is also a duty to preserve it and set the political scene in such a way that the people here can thrive and continue to have time and resources to actually enjoy this place.

Currently, this district is the worst affordable one in the whole of the country and it is not a particularly wealthy district as a whole. The medium income is below $40k a year. We struggle with an ageing population which will cause issues in the future when not enough income is generated from within. We also struggle with other causes of low income and see quite a divide between those who earn a lot (or had in the past) and those who somewhat hardly manage to stay on top. Will this district look out for its less wealthy and more vulnerable population in the years to come or are we more interested in attracting more wealth from other areas to come and live here instead?

We have certainly seen quite a few leaving this district because it was no longer affordable for them. We think we are in an extremely dire situation at the moment which won’t leave us anytime soon and we do need strong leadership with a plan and discipline to get us back on track to avoid commissioners taking over as we have seen in Christchurch or Tauranga. We think that requires drastic change of course.

As a summary, there were a few questions which we would like to mention. One person in Richmond asked what the council is planning to retain skilled young people in the district. Given the significant recently announced business losses certainly a valid question to ask and something to think about. Given the financial pressures, would you rather tighten the belt significantly and reduce maintenance of infrastructure and keep the current population, or keep up with maintenance but lose more of the current population who can no longer afford the rates? What is the benefit of the dam for the whole district? Is there an issue with council culture and if so, how to solve it?

Let’s look at our take on the candidates.

Richard Osmaston is the candidate who must have had the most training in making his presentation after about 15 years of standing for both local and national elections in various electorates on the exact same philosophy. He is advocating for a system which operates solely on a voluntary basis and without money. He has also written a book on it which we have read. We can certainly see his passion and dedication but also that there are a few steps missing in between an idea/utopia and reality. We understand that there are many positives but there are also many simplifications of matters which we consider are more complex. We agree that the current system has got a due date and is clearly not sustainable the way it currently operates. However, we have got strong reservations towards focusing much on theories which have caused much grief in the past and not proven to be feasible or free of violence. Marx would appear to fall into that category.

Maxwell Andrew Clark also tries to stand on multiple feet in the south island. There were a number of times where his candidature for Invercargill was brought up and his answers were not really convincing in our view. Apart from that, he is clearly not in favour of current council culture or spending.

Tim King is the man with the most experience on council. Experience comes with a track record and we are not convinced that his words in regards to the positive council culture or simple mistakes which have led to the massive dam blowout actually match reality. Just a few weeks back, he and the two others councillors on the CEO review panel attested to the high performance of the current CEO. The remainder of the council were simply provided with the report and no decision rights. When it was pointed out that the terms of reference of that committee suggest they merely recommend to council but not make decisions, he was confident that this was not the case. But the new council could have a look at it. An interesting way of dealing with potential irregularities of that significance.

Yes, there is always a pressure on councils and yes, there is always someone who does worse, but is this the standard we are aiming for? He is also confident that his experience allows him to treat the Mayoralty as a part-time job and pursue other work commitments such as farming. There surely was a reason for putting a large sum of money aside for his remuneration - namely that this office is to be treated as a full-time job we dare say.

We also don’t think that experience alone testifies that someone is suitable for the job. We failed to see any genuine honest self-assessment of clear vision for the future other than to say that it’s basically all central government. Admittedly, there is much legislation that must be followed and there is much change in central government legislation. But there is also discretion and regional diversity. The rules on tiny homes are part of those. Despite major issues around the topic at least since 2019, we do not see anything apart from waiting it out and taking people to court in the meantime about a rule that the Council is unclear about themselves (but our rule in the TRMP is not central government based; it is our own rule based on our own decisions).

We are not impressed with the style of leadership that we have been witnessing - especially towards councillors who ask questions. Tim King is certainly used to speaking in public and mostly knows how to best address a certain audience and his years of experience make him less prone to procedural faux-pas in candidate meetings.

Richard Johns is the man from Riwaka who comes with a clear mission to turn things around. His style is very Kiwi. A genuine number 8 wire mentality. He comes from earthmoving and construction, having also worked overseas. His happy place is blacksmithing and it is quite obvious that he loves problem-solving. He is really upset with how things are at the moment. From staff to debt, he is not happy. He has been dealing with the Council for many years and is involved in many issues which have clearly given him an idea about how big the issue is.

He is the candidate who will appeal to those who are looking for clear words and the human aspect in local government. Common sense is how he words it. He is clearly empathetic and concerned. Whilst he can be heated at times, he is happy to set things straight and be humorous. He does not shy away from saying what he thinks. He will need support to get up to speed with council procedure and has indicated a readiness for that. Absolutely approachable and easy to talk with.

Timo Neubauer clearly has things in common with the previous candidate. He is not happy with how things are at the moment and he is very approachable. He comes with a clear focus on urban design and a strong passion and clear vision for this district in terms of brownfield as opposed to greenfield developments. He clearly has concerns around council culture and staff costs, but his absolute centre of attention is the long-term planning of how development should take place in this district.

In his approach he is more tame and professional and is used to advocate to council. He can be seen anywhere - on signs, in person and online. He is friendly, has worked overseas and has some reservations to engage in unconventional thinking. He clearly is analytical and passionate about seeing the district thrive which in his view would be the case when his urban design vision was reflected in Tasman’s planning. We heard that some people have clear reservations - be it that his approach would mean increased short-term costs or that Kiwis prefer their current lifestyle. A classic case of how to find a compromise.

In summary, we agree with a statement from Councillor Mark Greening that among the mayoral candidates there are 2 good reasons for change.