Opinion: Number of council candidates indicates frustration

Tauranga is getting ready to vote for a new city councillor. Photo/file

A city-wide contest is under way to fill the vacancy left by the death of Tauranga city councillor Gail McIntosh on January 4.

Yesterday, we learned that 19 people will contest McIntosh's former at-large seat.

A lot of names on that list will sound familiar to many of you - many nominees have run for a council or local government seat before, some successfully, but there are also some new faces.

Tauranga election races for central and local government seats always seem to attract a large list of nominations, but 19 must be close to a record.

There was a large pool of candidates last council elections - 15 people ran for one of the council's four at-large seats and 11 ran for the mayoralty.

Some might say that the large number of nominations is an indicator of a thriving democracy, and I'm sure that's true.

But my feeling is that a whole lot of people are frustrated by the direction our city is heading.

We seem to be split firmly into two camps - those who want Tauranga to remain a quiet beachside village, and those that want to see a bustling and thriving city.

Those in the former camp are unhappy about being asked to pay for amenities they don't want and have managed without quite happily for years.

In the latter camp are those who want to see the city's facilities and infrastructure match the size and interests of its population and believe its an investment worth making.

The winner could have a dramatic effect on upcoming council decisions like the museum, so no matter which camp you fall into, make sure you have your say.

It could make or break the future of our city.