KEY POINTS:
Corrective surgery is scheduled for the Far North District Council if health board "fix it" man Wayne Brown wins New Zealand's northernmost mayoral contest.
Mr Brown, a Mangonui resident, is stepping down this year as chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, promising to focus his fixing abilities on the Kaikohe-based council via a Value For Ratepayers ticket.
He's one of two heavyweights in a seven-candidate field seeking the Far North mayoralty.
Incumbent Yvonne Sharp, seeking her fourth term in the job after being elected in 1998, sees council "fixing" being used simply as an election ploy by interests associated with her main rival.
Mr Brown's development profile in the district, and his wish for a "can do" attitude instead of "can't do" from council staff, has already resulted in accusations of vested interest and rumours of job insecurity within the council workforce should he become mayor.
Mrs Sharp, 68, who lives with husband John at Opito Bay near Kerikeri, says the idea that the whole council needs fixing is a "very simplistic election ploy". She believes it's an issue that has been "latched onto" for electioneering purposes.
"There's been a constant improvement in [council] services and roading," she says. "And we're trying to make it easier for people to get the consents they want."
Mrs Sharp sees coping with huge current growth on the district's eastern seaboard as a priority issue for her council during the next three years if she is re-elected, and points to what she says are robust plans to improve infrastructure.
But she puts the health, safety and wellbeing of Far North citizens as first among her priorities.
The district's environment is also special, and so is its flora and fauna.
Mrs Sharp concedes a "red tape" factor exists in council processes but says there's always red tape in local government "because we're governed by it as a creature of central government. I wish there was less".
She lists the council's strong financial position, big gains in infrastructure and keeping rate increases limited - compared with many other districts - as major achievements in her nine years as mayor.
This year's 5.2 per cent median residential rate rise across the district went up another 1 per cent after the disastrous March and July floods to help pay for damage to council roads, utilities and other infrastructure.
The council continues to work with flood prone local communities and the Northland Regional Council to reduce risk and damage from heavy rain events, even though it accepts that towns built on flood plains will always have floods.
"The choice for Far North people is clear," Mrs Sharp says. "I'm independent, I'm totally committed, and I have no vested interests."
Mr Brown, 60, lives with his wife Toni on Mangonui's harbour front.
He finishes 15 years of chairing district health boards when he steps down from the Auckland board in November, noting that it's $38 million better off than last year and 12 per cent ahead in elective surgery performed.
He outlines a fixing process he believes the Far North council needs urgently.
"Staff are there to help, not frustrate, and need to be told that.
"The phone system needs to be fixed so you get someone who can give you an answer or who can help you."
Mr Brown queries a "massive" growth in council bureaucracy, with staff numbers rising from around 150 in the late 1990s to about 250 now.
"You have to question that. Is it good value? The maximum amount of every dollar in rates should end up in infrastructure," he says.
Every $100,000 spent on salaries, council reports and publications is $100,000 not spent on sealing roads or other infrastructure, and everything spent has to justify itself.
Mr Brown wants council building inspectors and planners based where they're needed in the big growth areas of Kerikeri and the greater Kaitaia area, not in Kaikohe, where most are now.
A civil engineer, businessman, builder, company director, entrepreneur and surfer, he doesn't accept the additional term "developer" should necessarily be attached to his activities, even though critics have no hesitation in applying it for electioneering purposes.
"Everyone's a developer by current council standards. You only have to extend your verandah and you're a developer," Mr Brown says.
Emma Gibbs-Smith, 56, lives in Russell with husband Peter and is a resource management consultant, a trained nurse and chef.
She has lectured in early childhood education and has campaigned strongly on environmental and water quality issues in the Bay of Islands in recent years, following serious sewage spills in the area.
An unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2004 and a fluent Maori speaker, Mrs Gibbs-Smith says she will be there for all people and cultures in Northland.
The Field
Wayne Brown - Mangonui
Yvonne Sharp - Kerikeri
Emma Gibbs-Smith - Russell
Ivan Erstich - Kaitaia
Alezix Heneti - Kaikohe
John Pateman - Taheke
Will Stensness - Hokianga
