The local government election is soon to disturb the peace and quiet of voters — if it hasn’t already.
There are, however, a few issues that need some clarity. Voters need to be fully aware that they do not — repeat, do not — need to rank candidates they don’t want a bar of.
In the case of the 16 Dunedin mayoralty candidates, you will be asked to rank them in order of your preference. If, however, you want to rank only one or two candidates out of the 16 on your voting paper and ignore the rest, your voting paper is still entirely valid.
It makes no sense to tick those who are best ignored.
Then, there is the issue of why 14 mayoral candidates all hedge their bets by wanting to stand for council — as is their right. Someone might suggest the electoral system is being "gamed" by having two bites of the same cherry.
Gaming a system refers to the act of exploiting the rules and procedures of a system to gain unfair advantage that was not intended by the original design.
Name recognition is an important way to assist with being elected, so it follows that being involved in pre-election debates for the mayoralty could also seriously assist candidates in finding enough votes for council.
There is of course a lot of media attention of the likes of reporting who said something relevant at a mayoral debate, so there is a lot of benefit in standing for the top job, but if getting on the council is the candidate’s primary and only purpose for standing for the mayoralty, then that is questionable.
It might seem to most voters that the chance of being Dunedin’s next mayor rests with (say) four candidates.
Only one of course can win. The other "failed" mayoral candidates will then happily take a seat around the council along with the considerable salary of a duly elected councillor. Perhaps due to an increased profile?
This system has added to the dysfunctional behaviours of local government all over New Zealand and now warrants the attention of the Minister for Local Government who needs to review a broken process.
Political parties fielding candidates has in no way helped build confidence in the process.
Finding loopholes or weaknesses in the rules for a personal benefit may be seen as against the spirit and intent of any voting system but is entirely legal.
A review of the Local Government Act 2002 and Electoral Act was needed some time ago to accurately determine both Acts’ suitability in today’s complex world and given the size of local governments today.
Auckland City Council has a group income of over $7 billion. Dunedin City Council has a group operational revenue of $339 million, so some might even suggest that the ability of a councillor to read a balance sheet is a more essential quality than possessing a nice smile and a determination to bring about world peace — but that is the voter’s choice.
We all need to exercise that responsibility.
— Gerrard Eckhoff is a former Otago regional councillor.
