Opinion: Councillor Larry Baldock placed a stake in ground on Tauranga museum

Councillor Larry Baldock championed the museum project. Photo / Andrew Warner

I imagine politicians find it almost irresistible to go with the majority view - especially at a local level.

They rely on votes for their position, so it stands to reason they will be wary of straying too far from public opinion.

It's much harder, then, to dig your toes in and fight for something you believe in when the majority don't share your view - especially with an election on the distant horizon.

Such has been the case with councillor Larry Baldock, and his championing of the controversial museum project.

He argued Tauranga, as the fifth largest city in the country, and the only town of more than 50,000 without a museum, needs to get on with the plan.

There was initial success. In December the council approved a $50 million museum on Cliff Rd, with ratepayer contributions capped at $20.65m and the rest to come from external funders.

However, the project hit choppy waters soon after as resistance to the plan, amid concerns about a projected large rates increase, began to build.

This opposition may have had some influence on the council's decision, after already approving the plan, to hold a referendum. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to guess which way that would go.

Although closer than expected, most people voted against the museum - thus giving councillors a mandate to revisit their early, unpopular, decision.

No surprises then when our city councillors this week canned the plan.

For those, such as Baldock, who argued passionately in favour, it was a deflating end to 18 months or more of work.

The question now is not if but when the city will look back on this decision and kick itself for wasting time and money.

To quote Baldock this week: "as sure as God made little green apples we'll be back here again".

It was a sentiment echoed even by some of his colleagues who voted against the Cliff Rd proposal.

The museum has a strong lobby and 41 per cent of ratepayers who voted in the referendum behind it. Other scientific polls have suggested the level of support among residents might be higher still.

It's not going away and it's unlikely to get cheaper. Baldock deserves credit for risking his own popularity to back a project he believed would breathe life into the city.