As October’s local elections approach, reporter Kelley Tantau continues to put the spotlight on the mayoral contenders, and asks why they think they’re fit to wear the chains.
Hauraki’s two-time Mayor Toby Adams is ready for another term.
Over the 2024 Christmas break, he mused over whether he could commit “100 per cent” for a further three years. He decided he could.
Adams was elected Mayor following the 2019 local body elections. Prior to that, he had been the district’s deputy.
He said a number of factors tipped the scales toward restanding, including changes in Central Government, the appointment of a new council chief executive, and positive feedback from the public.
“The current government is making a lot of changes to the landscape of local government, with Local Waters Done Well, and the RMA reform – which I’ve been heavily involved with for the last three or four years – so trying to navigate a new council through that process requires some good leadership and some good stability,” he said.
“Also, I had good feedback from current elected members and community members asking whether I was going to run again, so I spent some time over the last Christmas break to see whether – because it’s a job that I’ve always put over 100 per cent into – I still had four years of giving 100 per cent, and I did.”
When asked what made him stand out against his competitors, Adams said it was his approachability.
“I consider myself one of the most accessible, approachable Mayors in New Zealand, and I get that from a lot of people,” he said. “And I don’t have different personalities for different meetings. I’m the same person every meeting I go to.
“So whether it’s a meeting with a ratepayer that’s having an issue over a rates bill or a water bill or a tree in their backyard, to having a meeting with the Prime Minister, I’m the exact same person.”
The approachability was evident when The Profile called unannounced at 4.27pm on a Tuesday afternoon.
The current Mayor pulled his car over in Waikino, off the Karangahake Gorge, for the interview. He was returning to Paeroa from a meeting with the Waihi Fire Service, which was working on a funding application for a new shed to house a water tanker.
Adams, a volunteer firefighter himself, said he quite often attended call-outs, but admitted people were “not as surprised as you would think” to see their Mayor suited up.
“I just think that’s what makes you do a job like [mayor] and is why you get into local government anyway – because you care about your community,” he said.
When reflecting on his past term, Adams said there were “multiple things” achieved collectively as a council – rather than any one individual accomplishment.
But he was adamant he’d built good relationships with neighbouring and national councils, and pointed to his role as chair of the Waikato Mayoral Forum, which advocates to central government on behalf of Waikato councils.
“There’s lots of things that we’ve achieved as a council, and I’ve played a role in that, but I’ll never take credit for any one decision because it’s not done solely by me,” he said.
“You can’t work in a silo around New Zealand. You’ve got to build relationships with your neighbouring councils, your Waikato councils, the rest of New Zealand’s councils, and different ministers, and those relationships don’t come on Day One.
“Just because you become the Mayor, you don’t automatically get relationships that are built over a number of years,” he said, “but I’ve built those.”
BY KELLEY TANTAU
