Mayoral profile: Peter Chin

What do you know about the candidates who are contesting Dunedin's mayoral campaign in the 2010 local body elections? Today, in the final Mayoral Profile, David Loughrey puts the questions to Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin.

Peter Chin

Age: 69

Marital/family status: Married.

Occupation: Mayor of Dunedin.

Council experience: Five terms, two as mayor.

Running for: Mayor.

Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin announced in June he planned to stand for a third term as mayor.

Mr Chin said then he was standing on his record, including his role in the decision to proceed with the Forsyth Barr Stadium, despite criticism from some quarters of his council's direction.

This week, he explained why.

Why are you standing again?

I feel that I have had the experience of 15 years.

I have the energy and commitment to this city, where I've lived all my life, to offer myself for a further term of service to this city, to the community.

Why should people vote for you again?

I would like to think that the achievements of this council, over the six years I have had the privilege of being the mayor, might lead them to think there has been a great deal of achievement, and the achievements of the city have been such that they would give me the opportunity of a further term leading the city.

What are those achievements, the ones you are most happy with?

Well, the work that council does isn't decided year by year.

Under the Local Government Act we have a long-term community plan, which basically sets out for years ahead the direction that the city is going to go in.

So projects are put in place and planned over a period of time.

Over the six years that I have been the mayor, we have made the decision to go ahead with the stadium, which has been a huge decision by council, and probably the biggest decision financially that it has made since the commitment nearly 20 years ago to the water and wastewater upgrades, which have taken up till now, and still have a couple of years to be completed.

So over the last period of time we've committed to the stadium; we've continued with the water and wastewater treatment programme; we have made now the commitment to do the refurbishing of the civic centre and the town hall complex, now under way; a decision has also been made on the Regent Theatre, that is also under way.

From a personal viewpoint, I have taken huge pride in the completion of the Chinese garden, and I chaired the trust that took the 12 years that it did to produce a garden that is really ... it's a world-acclaimed garden because it's a truly authentic garden here.

I've also worked very hard in terms of building the relationship with our tertiary sector, and I think I've also led the council in a way that every councillor has had the opportunity to be themselves and have the opportunity of expressing their opinion in a free way.