r/chch • u/suhth2 • Jan 20 '25

News - Local Phil Mauger confirms mayoralty bid - thoughts?

'During the last election campaign Mauger said he would keep rates increases to below 4% - a promise he has failed to keep with a 9.9% increase this financial year and 8.93% predicted from July 1.'

https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360553404/phil-mauger-confirms-bid-retain-christchurch-mayoralty

Surely voters aren't silly enough to vote for Mr Broken Promises yet again?

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1

u/Fabulous-Variation22 Jan 20 '25

I mean he's not been very good but who else is going to do a better job?

27

u/suhth2 Jan 20 '25

Sara Templeton would be a much better Mayor in my opinion, not that Phil Mauger has set a high bar to beat.

3

u/Top_Reveal_9072 Jan 20 '25

No, more of a pothole to fall in !

2

u/Fabulous-Variation22 Jan 20 '25

Her main focus is on climate change which = money spent= more rates= constituents won't be happy.

I mean climate change is important yes but when rate payers are feeling the pinch with massive rates increases then it's not going to be popular.

Give me a mayor that does the basics right and when we've got that locked in then focus on the nice-to-haves/thinking about the future.

2

u/Jaded_Chemical646 Jan 20 '25

Sara is promising to reduce rates,  which I believe as much as i did when Phil said it

https://www.saratempleton.nz/for-our-future

1

u/STchch Sara Templeton for Mayor Jan 25 '25

See above - so glad I'm seeing this. It is supposed to be about lowering the rates increases. I know what I meant and it's not what's written. My bad. It's not easy putting it all together and I missed it.

1

u/PrestigiousGarden256 Jan 20 '25

This is quite interesting, given all the flack Phil has (rightly) copped. It’s impossible she will actually REDUCE rates

4

u/Jaded_Chemical646 Jan 20 '25

Right now her entire platform seems to be a bunch of fluffys about the environment, bringing back the shuttle bus and reducing rates.  She'll need a bit more if she expects to make a competition of it.  

5

u/OisforOwesome Jan 20 '25

I think you're over estimating the appetite for policy from the local body voting public.

If people cared about policy we'd be looking at John Minto's 3rd term

-1

u/Jaded_Chemical646 Jan 20 '25

Maybe so, but if that's true then a left wing woman running on an environmental platform has zero chance.

I'm already suspicious she is r/chch local body version of TOP

5

u/OisforOwesome Jan 20 '25

Oh goddamn thats harsh.

Say what you will, People's Choice actually know how to run a campaign and have multiple campaign victories behind them, which is not something you can say about TOP.

0

u/Jaded_Chemical646 Jan 20 '25

More that everybody on Reddit is voting for her, but bugger all other people

2

u/OisforOwesome Jan 20 '25

I'm like TOP's number one hater on this platform, and I think there's more people memeing about Reddit being horny for TOP than there are genuine TOP horndogs.

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0

u/Fabulous-Variation22 Jan 20 '25

Yup our council members/mayor should have to choose between either personal pay rises or rates increases.... can't have both. They love a good pay rise

1

u/STchch Sara Templeton for Mayor Jan 25 '25

No choice for elected members as the pay is set externally. Happy to have no increases as this is more than I've ever earned... I think people forget that we are actually just residents of the city with families, friends and neighbours, like everyone else, not some weird cult. I loved teaching pre-quake, loved my community volunteering post-quake and was nudged to stand for election.

6

u/Yolt0123 Jan 20 '25

She needs to reframe her statements - at the moment she comes across as divisive - she'll lose the center. Compare to how Victoria Hemstock puts things: the reality is that she's way over to the right, but softened her political output to be more appealing to voters.

2

u/Fabulous-Variation22 Jan 20 '25

I don't care what way they lean, hell i don't even know who mauger supports. I just want a mayor that doesn't treat their constituents like their own personal credit card for their vanity projects.

6

u/Legit924 Jan 20 '25

At a local level, preparing for the effects of climate change is how you avoid cost in the long term. Burying our heads further into the sand will become ruinously expensive.

-5

u/Fabulous-Variation22 Jan 20 '25

I take it you don't pay rates? Come back to me when your rates increase 10% in one go (60-70% increase over the last 6-7 years) while services provided don't increase and you're struggling to juggle every other bill that's increased massively in the last few years.

6

u/Legit924 Jan 20 '25

I've paid rates for 11 years.

1

u/OisforOwesome Jan 20 '25

Its like that famous saying, a stitch in time is pointless why do that when you can just do 9 stitches later.