Guest columnist: Leave attacks out of debate

The election in Napier was a tough fight and I wish to particularly acknowledge my main opposition, Stuart Nash, for the energy and hard work that he put into his campaign.

One of the key messages that Stuart ran repeatedly was "Tremain for Amalgamation/Nash Against". The simplicity of his message, in my opinion, helped to shift some vote to him. He was able to make it the default position, perceived of me, by many voters.

I had a number of calls from people saying they were not going to vote for me for this reason.

Despite this, I was still fortunate to win with a majority of more than 3000. From a poll of 31,600, 51 per cent supported me while 40 per cent supported Stuart.

I could now arguably say that I have a mandate to push through legislation to amalgamate the councils of our region. I will not, as the simplicity of Stuart's message was not a platform I ran on or, in fact, my actual position.

What I have been advocating is one clear strategic plan for our region with the backing of all our councils (including the regional council). I want to help lead an inspired province which drives business growth and jobs while protecting our environment. We have too many shared assets, man-made (the port, roads, the airport) and natural (the Tuki Tuki and the Tutaekuri), to be working in different silos for different goals.

Does this mean council amalgamation. It might, it might not. I'm certainly not fixated with total amalgamation as the only alternative. It's more likely to mean a unique solution for the Bay which ensures we have strong representation for each of our cities, rural towns and hinterland.

One option may be for our mayors and deputies to be automatically appointed to the regional council, ensuring alignment of thinking behind the implementation of a regional plan. As a result of this position, I am a strong supporter of an options paper which considers how we may better deliver prosperity for our region and how our local governance may be better shaped to support that. We live in a dynamic world and we need to be constantly reviewing the way we do things.

We need to be lifting the bar so that Napier, Hastings, Waipukurau and Wairoa are places that our children want to return to raise their own families.

Any proposed change from the options paper would need to be strongly debated and would always be put to a referendum.

If there's one thing I proved on Saturday, there is certainly an appetite for a debate. That is healthy. But please, if there's one thing I ask, let's have that debate without the personal attacks.

We're all bigger than that.