New mayoral powers to improve consistency
Kevin O’Connor
At last there has been a real change in the way our communities are to be governed. New amendments to local government law will allow our next Mayor, whoever that is, to choose the deputy mayor and appoint committee chairs, rather than having them elected by their fellow councillors.
This means the elected leader of the council, the mayor, will effectively be able to create a core group of colleagues – a cabinet, if you like – to help drive through council the key policies that thinking voters relied on when they cast their votes for a Mayoral candidate.
The voters will then have a yardstick to measure the performance of the mayor and the core team when the time comes to vote again; with the extra power should come greater accountability – but only if voters exercise their rights responsibly.
The change means the Mayor will no longer be in the difficult leadership position of herding independent cats who have all been elected on the basis of differing policies and priorities.
Now, maybe, with a decent team of councillors (and that depends on the voters) we can build a positive and consistent approach to some key issues.
To view more details on mayoral and council candidates go to The Mud video pages.
The Mayoral Debate Videos
http://www.themud.co.nz/#!mayoral-debate/c9rs
Mayoral Candidate Video Interviews
http://www.themud.co.nz/#!elections-mayor/c1ten
Council Candidate Video Interviews
http://www.themud.co.nz/#!council-candidates/c1qkj