Seven candidates are in the running to be the next Whangārei Mayor.
Local Democracy Reporting Northland asked these candidates what the three main issues facing their district were - and how they would address these if elected.
The mayoral candidates are: Mike Budd, Vince Cocurullo, Ken Couper, Brad Flower, Fiona Green, Nick Jacob and Shaquille Shortland.
Mike Budd – standing as mayor only
1. Control of expenditure and protection of assets - These are difficult times for many citizens of Whangārei and things are likely to get worse before they get better. We'll get through it, but ratepayers and business owners, in particular, are under severe pressure as the full impact of the "cost of living" crisis kicks in. The big spike in land valuations released last spring adds more financial pressure. Rates and other fees need to be affordable, so we must pay very close attention to council spending and debt levels.
Eliminate unnecessary and wasteful spending. Establish the highest priorities in our formal plans and defer projects if necessary. Do more and get more with less.
I am not a fan of the Three Waters reform as currently outlined by central government. It is crucial we protect local ownership, control and management of this infrastructure which supports borrowing and funding roading.
2. Opportunities for the young - Whangārei District needs to provide more and better facilities and services for our youth. We need to provide a safe environment in which they can grow, learn excellent values and skills and prosper. We should find ways to develop homegrown talent through high-quality, practical educational and vocational opportunities. The recent "lift" in youth crime needs addressing so we all have safer communities. There are many community groups which have their "finger on the pulse" of our young people's needs; stronger investment in youth initiatives pays dividends for all sectors of the community.
3. Connectivity to Auckland and beyond - The so-called "golden triangle" needs to extend much further than Auckland. State Highway One south of Whangārei should have been a four-lane highway years ago. We need a stronger voice lobbying central government and its agencies to invest more heavily in all our transport connections with Auckland and beyond. We need to free up more land – commercial, retail, industrial, residential and recreational - and link Whangārei's CBD to the Town Basin. Rates need to be kept under control by attracting large-scale employers and investors and maximising the tourism potential of our natural environment.
The role of the mayor is to lead a team - harnessing the talents of your elected councillors and WDC staff to plan and implement policies that are sound and effective, creating beneficial outcomes. I have the leadership and governance experience, people skills, energy and vision to champion the district I love.
Vince Cocurullo - also standing in Whangārei Urban General Ward
Whangārei is a beautiful place and our biggest opportunities also form our biggest challenges.
Protecting Whangārei for future generations - whether through investment in infrastructure, roading, footpaths, sewerage, stormwater, water supply or through sourcing economic opportunities to help businesses thrive - it's critical we get the basics right. Such basics include: ensuring Whangārei's Three Waters remains in residents' ownership, where they are managed by the Whangārei District Council and not stolen by central government; developing an e-waste solution for New Zealand, based in Whangārei, which can create employment and innovative solutions for the ever-increasing e-waste problem due to the increasing need for technology; putting standards and systems in place for transport to better encourage the user with multi-mode transport options to get between work, home and recreation safely.
Keeping decision-making local - local communities typically know the issues they face and many times how to fix them. The council shouldn't talk to local communities like a child, instead we must listen first and then act on residents' wishes, not excluding various communities from being part of the solution, as we are all part of the same district.
Tackle a growing sense of vandalism, graffiti and lack of security affecting the district, especially the CBD, to ensure all the communities feel safe. We must not allow a minority to deflect from the beauty of the district, deflect from businesses growing in Whangārei and deflect from future generations wanting to stay local. At present we are working with council, CCTV, community patrol, CitySafe, Neighbourhood Support, police and the Chamber of Commerce and businesses. Our council and businesses fund CitySafe, which in turn works with the police. For Whangārei to address this issue of growing vandalism and graffiti, central government needs to come to the party. Rather than just talk in groups, we need boots on the ground, helping our young people by funding them to attend afternoon sports or the arts. As the old saying goes "a young person in sport/arts is one less in court".
Whangārei is the district we all love and I believe, as your mayor, together we can protect Whangārei for future generations. If you would like to know more, have a look at votevince.co.nz, or contact me on vince@cocurullo.co.nz
Ken Couper - also standing in Bream Bay General Ward
The community has been raising issues loud and clear and I have been hearing. The three key issues I am hearing are value for rates, safer communities and positive economic development. I am asking for your vote for mayor so I can lead the Whangārei District Council to implement solutions to these issues.
It will be my job as mayor to bring the council together to focus our strategy on what is important for ratepayers. I would expect the new strategy to look at driving value for rates paid, safety in our community and job creation.
I believe Whangārei deserves strong, fair leadership to guide the council to work for the betterment of the district.
People want to live in a safe city and I believe there is more we can do to create a family-friendly, safe environment. The council needs to provide adequate funding for CitySafe. We also need coordination of, and to hold to account agencies, including the police, who are funded to work with those youths who are troublesome.
The council needs a strategy that takes a comprehensive look at the district's needs and then clearly identifies actions that will address these. This will include a coordination role with multiple agencies and central government.
I believe improving the district's infrastructure - such as the port, proposed dry dock and roading and rail links - will help deliver prosperity to our region. Developing this infrastructure will bring more and better jobs to the area.
As for roading infrastructure, I know Whangārei deserves better. We need to work with the region's Northland Transportation Alliance and hold Waka Kotahi to account. We will not tolerate substandard roads and we need to keep a loud Northland presence in Wellington until more funding is available for the North. We haven't had our fair share in the past, so we need to strive for it now.
I know there is more that can be done to increase the vibrancy in Whangārei city. We need to further develop the civic and arts centre on the Forum North site and create a parking strategy that brings free parking into town.
I have learned through time living in the community and on the council and know I can help address the above concerns. I am asking for your vote for mayor so I can lead a council to carry out those plans.
Brad Flower - also standing in Hikurangi Coastal General Ward.
1. Remove the current dysfunction from the council chamber and get all councillors "paddling the waka in the same direction". Diversity of thought should be encouraged, but we also need to be able to find a compromise on issues that divide. We don't always have to agree, but we need to agree to make decisions for the collective benefit of the district as a whole. This can be easily addressed by having open and honest discussions with all parties involved and making decisions based on the merit of the issue, not based on the person/persons who have presented it.
2. Infrastructure procurement needs to change so that we move away from the current "lowest price conforming" model to a "value for money" model. We need to look at how our infrastructure spend can bring us more long-term value, instead of trying to get a volume of work completed each financial year. This will ensure construction quality is valued more than the quantum of work delivered, therefore reducing the need for reworking and additional ongoing maintenance. The infrastructure procurement model needs to be more cost-effective for our contractors, so as not to "burn" money in tendering processes that do not add any value for the council or the contractor. We need to have a closer, more open and robust relationship with Waka Kotahi so we can look at our 30-year infrastructure plan and identify projects that may be able to be brought forward and work together in developing a funding model that will benefit our district.
3. Financial stewardship needs addressing. The Whangārei District Council's pre-election report shows our net debt to increase from $145m on July 1, 2021, to $348m by June 30, 2031. The report also states debt will increase from $192m today to $295m in the next four years. We cannot continue to raise rates above the rate of inflation (and more) to cover this increasing debt. Ratepayers need to be assured they are getting value for money and we are addressing the "needs" of the district, not the "wants". If ratepayers' wages are not increasing at the same rate as inflation, the cost of rates becomes increasingly unaffordable. Ratepayers will be assured if council can prove it is a good steward of their assets. This will be done by establishing a finance committee focused on income and expenditure and setting robust monitoring processes.
Fiona Green - also standing in Whangārei Urban General Ward
Stop Three Waters - This needs to be a mayor and community effort. The community needs to join me and help me with a huge push-back against this happening. We can do it as a large contingent made up of people of all ages in our communities.
Lack of full community engagement - a sincere public apology needs to be given to the public, wounds need to be healed, trust needs to be rebuilt. Reforms need to occur regarding councillors' roles and responsibilities - accountability being first and foremost - and this can be done through policy. If council-community relationships continue as they are, the community will continue feeling like it doesn't count for anything and that the same pattern of behaviour we have been seeing will be repeated which is disconnecting and disengaging. Two thousand submissions on any topic is not the whole community.
As mayor, councillors will work with me to bring the people - our communities - back on board. Decisions on largely controversial topics like stop Three Waters should be made on feedback from more than 80 per cent of the voting population as an indicator. This of course will need refining and redefining along the way, but 2000 submissions does not reflect all of the community.
Rates/finance - We should not be doing anything until we are absolutely sure of the council's current financial position. And we need to be reducing debt. As mayor, I will reinstate the council's finance committee to control spending and put mechanisms in place to reduce debt.
The finance committee is to be made up of more people with financial and accounting experience and fewer councillors. The risk and audit committee, comprising the mayor and councillors (2019 until 2022) has not delivered. I will address this and more, through a forensic audit and policy.
Nick Jacob - standing as mayor only
The main issues Whangārei is facing are the cost of living and rising inflation.
With diesel now more expensive than petrol the next three years is going to be tough.
Fuel is used in everything. Even a simple lettuce has a fuel input - the tractor in the field, fertiliser, transport from farm to a distribution point and then finally arriving onto a supermarket shelf.
This is a big cost for council as well. Its biggest spend is on roading which has a huge oil component. The incoming council, whoever it may be, will face some big challenges managing this and will have to make some tough decisions.
Russia used to export half the world's oil and fertiliser but that is now all banned from export.
When supply goes down but demand remains the price goes up and up.
This is an external factor that is causing us inflation and the Government's seemingly only tool to fight this is to increase interest rates. For the average person, this is causing great financial harm as wages are not increasing by anywhere near the same rate.
I do not support the proposed new airport for Whangārei as this is a huge amount of money that effectively subsidises Air New Zealand. Whangārei ratepayers should not be subsidising Air New Zealand. I have policies on my website, www.nickjacobformayor.nz, that can help you out around public transport and the cost of commuting to work, as well as reducing some council costs for having a second dwelling for a family member(s).
These are concepts for creating more sustainable and affordable communities as we face a rising cost of living.
The council can only do so much, but if you work 40 hours a week you should not be living in poverty.
Together we can make a better world.
Shaquille Shortland - also standing in Whangārei Urban General Ward.
I am standing for mayor and Whangārei Urban ward to encourage others who would not usually engage in local politics to enrol, vote and get involved! These groups mainly consist of Māori, young people and ethnic communities all of which I work with.
I have over 10 years of local, national and global governance experience and run a social enterprise focused on creating positive systemic change through education that operates in the public sector throughout New Zealand.
The majority of my time is spent volunteering for community projects, mentoring youth, feeding families and teaching free te reo classes.
I would like to bring a fresh perspective to the council and explore new ways to do things focusing on transparency, social change and improving council and community engagement.
I want to take our council meetings out into the community into each ward, host a tri-monthly mayoral breakfast where we can report back to the people and be accessible with a weekly open door day.
I want to give a third of my mayoral salary to young people so that they can shadow the mayor, councillors and chief executive to learn the constructs within council, working with schools to increase education on civics and bring youth into creating solutions for the rise of youth crime.
This council is going to be more diverse than any other previous council due to the Māori ward. Whangārei will require leadership that can walk in many worlds and there is no mayoral candidate who has a proven history of doing this inside and outside of their paid roles.
Diversity, community and innovation are the three things I really want to see in our next council. Diversity will broaden the perspective and knowledge base of council and make sure jobs are done right the first time, engaging with the community authentically will make sure there are local solutions implemented into council planning and innovation will bring new approaches where the old ways do not work.
I have many more ideas for our future as a community to bring vibrancy and life to our CBD with an eat street to connect to the waterfront, become an environmentally friendly city, lower rates through zoning and investment portfolio reviews with the reinstatement of a financial and performance committee and much more.
■ Whangārei voters will get the chance to hear their mayoral candidates in action and answer a series of questions at the Northern Advocate and The Hits Northland Meet the Whangārei Mayoral Candidates evening at Forum North, on Tuesday, September 27, from 6pm. All seven Whangārei mayoral candidates have been invited. Email your questions for the candidates to elections@northernadvocate.co.nz and we will ask some of them on the night.
■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
A rāhui has been placed on Bland Bay and will be lifted at 12pm on Thursday.