KEY POINTS:
More than two years ago, North Shore residents told their city councillors they wanted the city to kick off its comfortable old slippers and step up to the mark to reach its potential.
Now, after notching up the highest rates rise of any city in the Auckland region, the public mood has changed, say challengers to Mayor George Wood's re-election to a fourth term.
People want a breather from council-approved annual rates rises of 6.9 per cent, 9.5 per cent and 7.4 per cent. The average homeowner's rates bill is now $1711.
"Gold-plated projects, escalating expenditure, climbing debt, ballooning bureaucracy and loose governance" are the catch-cries of Andrew Williams, one of four candidates seeking Mr Wood's mayoral chains.
"I've a strong feeling from the community that accumulating rates increases have become quite daunting for our beneficiaries and senior citizens, while the council turns a blind eye to the community's needs and priorities," says Mr Williams.
"North Shore has the highest rate increase of any city in the region and the council's 10-year plan shows annual increases in excess of 8 per cent."
Mr Williams was a councillor from 2001 to 2004 and as deputy chairman of the Takapuna Community Board is well known for his vigilance and dogged confrontations with the council.
An international trade executive, he aims to tighten council management. He would review staffing increases and priorities of big projects, which have caused a debt mountain of $268 million.
One target in Mr Williams' sights is the Albany Library, which he says is not needed yet and will cost $20 million to build and $8 million a year to run.
Mr Williams says he offers "fresh thinking and a mind of my own". His campaign website displays a comment made by Mr Wood in a Close Up television interview last year that ratepayers should consider "downsizing" their homes if they could not pay the rates rise.
This caused an uproar. Mr Wood says he wished he had never mentioned it when giving a range of options available.
As it turned out, more than 3000 North Shore home owners received a total of $1.5 million in rates rebates last year under the Government scheme.
Mr Wood, a former police manager, has built up a rock-solid majority in successive elections and last time pulled 25,241 votes out of 47,000 cast.
He rebuffs Mr Williams' criticism, saying the level of rates is tied to the 10-year plan for $1.7 billion of works.
"I became mayor on the issue of cleaning up the beaches and I think we made huge progress in that area," says Mr Wood. "We have to continue the capital works programme and if you took rates increases down you would cut out a huge part of it. I don't think people on the North Shore would want to stop the programme."
However, he says there is the "possibility of some tweaking of the programme" if the new council favours that.
Another election issue, which has split the present council, is being highlighted by Councillor Callum Blair, whose second crack at the mayoralty is under the banner "No Commercial Airport".
Mr Blair says the issue of whether the council should back the neighbouring Waitakere City Council's push for commercial flights at Whenuapai Air Base is strong enough to motivate people to get out and vote.
"The most pre-eminent threat to our lifestyle on the North Shore is the commercial airport," says Mr Blair, who lives in Murrays Bay and is chairman of the council's regulatory committee.
"North Shore people who would be in the flight path, in the East Coast Bays, Paremoremo and Greenhithe, are concerned about the effects on them. But outside the area, there is concern as to how much ratepayers will have to pay out."
Last October, the North Shore decided to join Rodney District Council, Waitakere and infrastructure investor Infratil in forming an airport company.
This was after Mr Wood used his casting vote in favour of joining the airport company.
Mr Wood's own home would be under a flight path and he says the council's recommendation to the new council is to carry out analysis of the impact of any airport.
His opponent, Mr Williams, says he will not support the airport going ahead if independent environmental and health reports show it will adversely impact on people's lifestyles.
THE CANDIDATES
* Aileen Austin - Independent, conservation educator, polled 3866 votes in 2004.
* Callum Blair - No Commercial Airport, city councillor and chairman of its regulatory committee.
* Major Bob Pope - former president of the NZ Army Association.
* Andrew Williams - Don't Waste the Rates, Takapuna Community Board deputy chairman, city councillor 2001-04, international trade executive.
* George Wood - Independent, mayor for nine years.
