It was a packed house at Paeroa Rugby Club for the Meet the Candidates public meeting on September 10 – except at the table on stage.
At the meeting, which was hosted by Paeroa Lions, incumbent Hauraki Mayor Toby Adams sat alone in the spot reserved for the mayoral candidates. His opponents, first-time candidates Levi Burton and Roman Jackson, did not turn up, leaving Adams to hold the floor unchallenged.
The scene was to repeat at the Ngatea ward’s meeting, hosted by the Hauraki Plains Community Hub at the Hauraki RSA on September 11.
Organisers from both events said they had reached out multiple times with invites, but did not receive a response from either man.
Burton addressed his decision not to attend on social media, saying, “I did not agree to attend this meeting. Rather, I chose to spend my time out in the community listening to rate payers and finding real solutions”.
Adams was cheerful about his lack of competition at the Paeroa event, and praised the candidates who did attend.
“It’s not an easy task putting yourself out in front of everybody, and once you get to the council table, you realise just how hard it is when you get all sorts of those names called at you, which I get frequently,” he said.
“Everybody thinks that the Mayor’s got this massive axe that they can just come in there and swing and make all these decisions.”
Adams is seeking a third term as Mayor. He was comfortable at the mic, beginning his speech with a run-down of his achievements to date and preemptively addressing controversial topics like the council’s heavy spending on water infrastructure.
“We get criticised because we’ve got debt, but we’ve been investing in our waters and wastewater network. Most of our water drinking plants are up to standard… our Waihī wastewater plant is fully compliant and up to scratch, and we’re investing $40 million here in Paeroa,” Adams said.
“We [the council] make decisions based on what is right for our community, not what’s going to get [us] voted in or voted out.”
He was also eager to engage directly with the crowd, encouraging questions.
“Somebody ask me about rates,” he said. “I want to give some interesting facts about rates.”
The other speakers in Paeroa were more subdued, but still had plenty to say. Paeroa general ward candidates Michael Aitken, Michelle Magnus, and incumbents Paul Milner and Jo Tilsley spoke for five minutes each before fielding questions from the crowd.
Many of the questions revolved around council spending, with voters wanting to know candidates’ opinions on “nice to haves” versus necessary spending.
Aitken and Tilsley emphasised the community’s role in deciding what was necessary.
“It doesn’t matter what I think personally, because I don’t sit in chambers to represent myself… [feedback and] consultation feeds into our decision-making,” Tilsley said, while Aitken commented, “it is important that we do look very carefully at the services that we offer to make sure that all members of the community are being serviced”.
“[Swimming pools, libraries and sports fields] are the things that makes our community a great place to live,” Milner said.
“We have basic core services that fits our community and is affordable. The reason such big rates increases have come is the cost of compliance with water and wastewater.”
Magnus, meanwhile, was directly challenged with questions asking what she considered to be council “vanity projects”. She pointed to the Placemaking initiative on improving the town centres, along with upgrades to Paeroa’s Railway Reserve, and planned murals on Wharf St.
“Until we can keep our rates under control, let’s just put a hold on it.”
Milner told the audience the Placemaking initiative was mostly funded by separate government funding. Incumbent candidate Rino Wilkinson was unable to attend due to illness.
Meanwhile, Plains general ward candidates Cynthia Bates, Andrew Pickford, and incumbents Ray Broad, Stephen Crooymans and Neil Gray took their turns at the mic in Ngatea, to an equally crowded house.
Both events also heard from the Waikato Regional Council candidates. The five candidates, Lindsay Algra, Walt Cavendish, Keith Holmes, Julie Taylor and incumbent Robert Cookson, are contesting two seats in the Waihōu ward.
Taylor was unable to attend the Paeroa meeting, while Holmes was absent for the Ngatea meeting.
A third public meeting, hosted by Grey Power Waihī, is scheduled for September 26. It will feature the candidates for the Waihī general ward, regional council and mayoral seats.
There are four Hauraki councillor vacancies in the Plains ward, three in Paeroa and four in Waihī. Voting closes on October 11 at noon.
DETAILS: Waihī Meet the Candidates, September 26, 9.30am, Waihī Baptist Church.
