In the words of the sometimes mocked Kenny Rogers classic The Gambler, ‘‘If you’re gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right’’.
It is a sentiment all of our recently elected local body representatives would do well to take on board, regardless of their gender.
After any election there will always be some bruised egos.
Candidates who might have expected they had a good chance of being re-elected miss out, some who get back in wonder why they were not higher up the list, and they may be mystified by why some newcomers have made it at all.
But the people have spoken. Well, those who bothered to vote have.
In Dunedin’s case, 45.47% of eligible voters turned out, down from the 2022 result of 48.21%.
Trying to second-guess what people might have been thinking when they entered their rankings on the ballot paper is a futile exercise.
The new city council will have its first formal meeting in about a week, but so far the lead-up to that has been messy.
We have had newcomer Benedict Ong invited to a meeting with the chief executive Sandy Graham after feedback from several people who felt uncomfortable in their recent interactions with him.
There are no code of conduct proceedings in play, but she was keen to discuss ways to ensure a safe and professional work environment.
Mr Ong’s communication style is unusual, and perhaps his likening joining the council with being part of a family was an analogy he took too far.
His credentials have also been called into question, with returning councillor Lee Vandervis going public about his concerns. Consequent communication between the pair resulted in Mr Vandervis blocking the new councillor.
Then, this week we also had frustration being expressed by the mayoralty runner-up Andrew Simms about misinformation on how best to vote under the single transferable vote (STV) system.
While still supportive of STV, he was critical of advice (not from official quarters we note) which had circulated suggesting people should vote only for their first preference for mayor and not anyone else.
Mr Vandervis, who has had multiple unsuccessful tilts at the mayoralty, has also been critical, saying he used to support STV but has now changed his mind because the version used ‘‘boosts minority candidates and punishes candidates with strong views and supporters who tend not to cast second preferences’’.
We are sceptical.
Maybe there is a need for more education about the system for those new to voting, but in Dunedin we have been using STV since 2004 so it is hard to understand why older voters would not have come to grips with it by now.
It was used for district health board elections from that time too until they were scrapped, and this year for the first time by the Otago Regional Council.
This newspaper supports its use, along with random ordered names in ballot papers, regarding it as a much fairer system than first-past-the-post (FPP).
The ranking system acts like an insurance policy to make sure as many people as possible have the chance to elect someone to represent them in council.
As University of Otago politics professor Janine Hayward says, there is evidence STV helps increase voter turnout when people think their votes will make a difference and that it increases diversity in elected representation when diverse candidates stand.
The mantra ‘‘if you rate them, rank them’’ seems a sensible way to go. You do not have to rank them all and can rank as few as you like.
If a voter chooses to rank just one mayoral candidate, is that the system’s fault or a gamble that voter was prepared to take?
The new mayor Sophie Barker has made it clear she favours an inclusive style of leadership where everyone contributes and there is respect for everyone’s viewpoint.
Before the first meeting next Friday, it would be good if all councillors-in-waiting could dial back any discord and disappointment about the election results.
They should instead concentrate on how they might best work together for the good of the city.
