Bhatnagar out of Super City race

Aaron Bhatnagar. Photo / Dean Purcell

High-profile Auckland City councillor Aaron Bhatnagar has decided not to stand for election to the Super City council - but could still play a role if Mayor John Banks wins the super mayoralty.

Although just a first-term Citizens & Ratepayers councillor, Mr Bhatnagar is a close confidant of Mr Banks and helped to mastermind his 2007 comeback to the Auckland City mayoralty. He is a senior member of Mr Banks' campaign team this year.

He has not ruled out working in what will be a beefed-up mayoral office under the Super City reforms.

The son of whiteware magnate Sir Roger Bhatnagar, the Hobson councillor said he would "love" to be a National Party candidate for Parliament in the future.

But the 34-year-old father of three young children said it was too early to decide about standing for Parliament in 2011.

Mr Bhatnagar, who chairs the council's city development committee, said he had been pleased with progress to reduce compliance costs for ratepayers and wanted to complete a film-friendly policy for the city before seeing out the council term.

His short council career has had its moments. He was caught doctoring the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to paint his opponents in a bad light at the 2007 local body elections. He also failed to pick up controversial changes to liquor licensing laws early, but moved quickly to scrap them after a hostile reaction from the hospitality industry.

Mr Bhatnagar said he was uncomfortable with the model of putting many of the Super City's functions into council-controlled organisations at arm's length from the Auckland Council, saying councillors would be more focused on overseeing the organisations than setting policy.

Mr Bhatnagar's decision will ease the crowded selection field in the Orakei-Maungakiekie ward for C&R. He was considered a near-certainty for one of the two nominations. C&R still has four sitting councillors in the wards - Doug Armstrong, Ken Baguley, Paul Goldsmith and Toni Millar - potentially seeking the two spots.