Analysis: Why new Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell has her work cut out for her

Tania Tapsell at her election party on Saturday. Photo / Alan Gibson

ANALYSIS: After Saturday's local election results, unsuccessful Rotorua mayoral candidate Reynold Macpherson said his loss was almost a "relief" and that he may have "dodged a bullet".

It's a fairly convenient line after the fact and upon a loss, but Macpherson has a point: new mayor Tania Tapsell has her work cut out for her.

She faces a district at a turning point. Second-place mayoral candidate Fletcher Tabuteau said Rotorua was "on a precipice".

Rotorua has never been free of issues, especially socio-economic ones.

But after a pandemic that has rocked tourism, the proliferation of emergency housing in motels and its well-traversed impacts, and apparent trust issues between the council and community, Rotorua needs a leader who will stand up and speak out and get things done.

At the very least, Tapsell will need to be conscious of the requirement to also be seen to be getting things done. Her predecessor, Steve Chadwick, was criticised for inaction on emergency housing, but it was later revealed Chadwick was working behind the scenes, lobbying ministers. Whether she lobbied hard enough with ministers - among them friends and former colleagues from her time as a Labour MP - will always be a matter of debate and contention.

Chadwick did not speak out publicly early on emergency housing, and, when she did, it was only lightly critical. Stronger words may have been exchanged behind closed doors, but, in any case, the softly-softly behind-the-scenes approach left some in the public with the impression their mayor was missing in action on the subject.

Former Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick. Photo / Laura Smith

Chadwick's legacy is now for historians, but she left Tapsell with a parting warning: dealing with councillors with strong personalities will require "artful hands" to manage. Chadwick knows from experience.

Tapsell appears determined to work with councillors inclusively, even when she disagrees with them. An approach that works against alienation - which would only exacerbate acrimony - is likely to be effective, albeit difficult.

But all mayors do well to remember whether they agree with their colleagues or not, councillors are duly elected and they represent part of the electorate, for better or worse. Democracy is not always easy nor convenient and it requires raruraru - conflict and debate - to work. It is not meant to be slick, on-message and PR-driven.

Tapsell is clear her National Party affiliation does not play into her role in local government. But asked on Sunday if she had existing relationships with central government, she said she didn't but looked forward to establishing them.

Rotorua mayor-elect Tania Tapsell. Photo / Felix Desmarais / LDR

On one hand, her distance and party-political opposition to the current Government means she may feel freer to criticise it, rattling the cage more noisily than a Labour or left-aligned mayor might. On the other hand, maybe the minister's ear may not be quite as friendly.

Conversely, with the general election looming next year, a swing back to National could mean Tapsell will be able to utilise her contacts in the party. Tapsell is well-regarded by Christopher Luxon, Nicola Willis and Rotorua MP Todd McClay. Simon O'Connor and Simeon Brown congratulated her on her win on her Facebook page. These connections could prove useful in the future.

In any case, the most important relationship Tapsell will need to foster is with the people of Rotorua. There appears to be increasing distrust between the council and the public.

Several proposals, such as the Westbrook Sports Precinct development, Rotorua's Māori ward arrangements, the implementation of seven deputy chief executives and the council's highly controversial reserves proposal failed to bring the public along on the ride with much of their development taking place behind closed doors.

Tania Tapsell, left, and Sandra Kai Fong, who will be Rotorua's deputy mayor. Photo / Andrew Warner

Hiding debate, discussion and direction to staff behind those closed doors bred suspicion and distrust whether there was legitimate cause for it or not. It underestimated the intelligence of the public.

This practice will likely need to be - at least - scaled back under Tapsell's leadership if she wants to rebuild that trust.

It won't be easy - disagreement is never a pretty picture. But it's democracy and the public want to see councillors going in to bat for their wide-ranging views.

"Raw and naked debate", as constitutional law expert Dr Dean Knight calls it, is not crisp and clean, but it is less damaging than cutting the public out, and could mean good proposals get the fair public hearing - and crucially, buy-in - they deserve.

It appears Tapsell is cutting the locks to fling the doors open - she's said closed-door workshops had been "damaging to the perception of politics" and public exclusion should be an "exception".

Tapsell ran a slick campaign that stayed on message and wisely played to populist causes such as stopping the sale of reserves and opposition to Three Waters reform. She managed to appear on television talking about emergency housing, looking and sounding mayoral. She comported herself like a mayor.

Now Rotorua will wait to see if the campaign image is backed with substance, and whether Tapsell can turn Macpherson's dodged bullet into a silver one.

Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air.