2019 was the third consecutive local body election in which I have compiled a voting guide. In 2013, it was a couple of pages knocked together, with a considerable amount of self-interest invested into it. The Affordable City nationwide local body ticket – Affordable Auckland in our case – had three candidates for Council, two for local board and myself standing for Mayor.
Affordable Auckland Results 2013
| Mayor of Auckland | Stephen Berry | 13650 | 3.97% | 3/17 |
| Franklin Ward | Niko Kloeten | 3727 | 23.01% | 3/3 |
| Waitakere Ward | Peter Chan | 7413 | 11.46% | 6/8 |
| Waitemata & Gulf Ward | Stephen Berry | 1435 | 7.56% | 4/6 |
| Waitemata Local Board | Stephen Berry | 2920 | 3.29% | 16/20 |
| Whau Local Board | Heidi Bale | 1970 | 1.92% | 25/32 |
In 2016, I’d withdrawn from the Mayoral race when the centre-right got too crowded, Palino had a very similar platform to mine and I’d now been transferred to open a new supermarket. It’s hard to sit and watch, quietly, from the sidelines. Hence, a 2016 voting guide. It took a couple of days to complete but again, not that detailed.
When the 2019 candidates had been confirmed, I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult to do an assessment of every race if I started immediately, but hyper-focus and the desire not to be sued for defamation resulted in each article taking 2 to 5 hours at a time to write. Local boards such as Manurewa with 22 candidates and Devonport-Takapuna with 18 were especially demanding. Underestimating the size or difficulty of a task is a mistake I think I’m doomed never to learn, though the accompanying excessively optimistic outlook is compensation enough.
For a blatantly biased voting guide, I was determined to be as fair and systematic as possible by reading every candidate profile and googling each candidate to ensure I had as much information as possible. This was most difficult with local board contests. I’ve had a long and sufficiently intense interest in politics for most names or affiliations to ring a bell, though some had virtually no google footprint at all.
Incumbents are among those with virtually no online presence, including incumbents no longer affiliated with the tickets they were elected prior. The absence of evidence for their newfound independence speaks just as loudly as the absence of any other visibility on google. They did as little as their former colleagues claim. Conversely, a much smaller number of incumbents with new affiliations also stood for re-election and their google footprints indicate the fault resulting in parting ways with their colleagues isn’t their own.
Some candidate profiles were either obviously rushed, showed a lack of effort or were grammatically indecipherable. Others said plenty about themselves or careers and little about their priorities, then had the nerve to send me criticisms for portraying them poorly, not doing enough research or failing to understand how that experience would make them excellent representatives.
Candidates write the candidate profiles themselves. If I have failed to understand the value you would add as a representative, using your candidate profile and google searches using the keywords within, the fault is entirely yours. Do better. Others, standing for election for the first time emailed their appreciation of being reviewed, some of which were blunt but came with suggestions for improvement. The clickbait nature of mass mainstream media meant it was almost the only coverage they had and that’s a frustration I completely understand. Considering the number of elections I’ve lost, it is legitimate to question the value of that advice but much of it comes from politicians I look up to and failing teaches at least as many lessons as success.
I’ve lived in a variety of Auckland suburbs in my life; Manurewa, Mt. Roskill, St. Lukes, Ponsonby, Massey, Lynfield, Onehunga, Remuera, Meadowbank, CBD and Forrest Hill. Most of the contests I researched with no preconceptions of whom I would support and in some cases completed the review with a decision very different from expected. I didn’t even open my voting papers until the articles on Orakei and the Mayoralty were written and published. The irony of being unable to make a decision until reading the voting guide I authored isn’t lost.
Numerous contests, especially the local boards, I knew virtually nothing of the participants, their policies or the nuances of the unique issues of their locality until the article was completely researched and published. The public responses that followed were sufficient evidence I’d got it right. Some were so disproportionate and bizarre, they only helped the reputation of the candidate they opposed.
On occasion, I got it wrong, inevitable given the enormity of the task. The spelling of a couple of candidate names had to be fixed. One candidate who I stated had championed an unsuccessful petition for a dog park, produced evidence showing not only was the petition not rejected but the local board in question was very close to implementing its request. Naturally I was only too happy to publish a correction in every facebook community group possible. There was also the case of two female candidates, listed one after the other on the same ballot who had both worked in their local MP’s office and one was missed from the guide. Credit goes to the persistence and politeness of their many supporters for the injustice being corrected.
Sometimes, I’d encounter candidate names that I only recognised as having liked the facebook page recently. Many I’d met and liked personally despite their politics. Those were the most difficult to write. Politics is an enterprise in which uncomplimentary interactions or language are routine and necessary. It varies wildly depending on the individual, but a significant proportion of the insults and criticisms levelled at rivals aren’t enjoyable.
To my knowledge, Stephen Berry’s Guide to Auckland Local Elections is the most comprehensive, complete and detailed guide compiled in New Zealand political history. If not, it certainly is the case for one compiled single-handedly.
Unfortunately, I fell short of achieving a review of every election contest, though the Mayoralty, all Council Wards, 1 DHB, 16 from 32 local board contests and the Waitakere & Portage Licensing Trusts were completed.
Several other organisations also wrote guides recommending voting choices;
- Generation Zero covered Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin
- The Spinoff
- Northern Action Group. Rodney
- The Public Health Association covered 4 DHB’s
- The Traffic Jam in Wellington
- The Common Climate Network
- Organise Aotearoa in Hamilton
- Western Springs Speedway in Auckland
- Auckland Ratepayer’s Alliance
All of these guides shared a fatal flaw. They required candidate participation. Not every candidate likes answering policy questions for a publisher they perceive to be hostile or unimportant. Communities & Residents didn’t participate in any in Auckland. Stephen Berry’s Guide to Auckland Local Elections (aka The BFD’s An Absolutely Biased Guide to Auckland Local Elections) wasn’t compromised by that handicap because I asked virtually no candidates. The names of those who contacted me will stay with me.
There were 40 individual contests rated, once local boards are split into subdivisions where appropriate.
- 21 Mayoral candidates
- 50 Council candidates
- 150 Local Board candidates
- 27 District Health Board candidates
- 34 Licensing Trust candidates
That’s 282 candidacies, compiled at the end of this article though, with 1 day left for people to physically deliver their vote, I doubt that will make any further impact.
Facebook page likes: 415
Facebook page reach: 62599
24 candidates received the highest rating of $$$$$
Jonathan Subritzky, Beth Houlbrooke, Paul Manton, Brent Bailey, Carmel Claridge, Colin Davis
Desley Simpson, Aidan Bennett, George Wood, John Tamihere, Ken Penney, Daniel Newman
James (Jim) Brown, Alexis Poppelbaum, Victoria Short, Angela Fulljames, Sharon Stewart,
Ian Cummings, Jose Luis Fowler, Rachel Langton, Mark Thomas, Lisa Whyte, Sam Mills, Brent Robinson
3 candidates received the 5 clown rating
Kevin Brett, Dorothea Scanlan, Tricia Cheel (who doesn’t appear to have taken it very well).
1 candidate was awarded the unique smiley face
Tom Sainsbury (AKA Fiona, the wine reviewer)
Most Suprising Voting Recommendation
Richard Hills for North Shore Councillor
Most Underappreciated Candidate
William Maxwell-Steele for Waitemata & Gulf
Biggest Crybaby Candidate
Mark Graham for Albert-Eden-Puketepapa
Thank You
SB of The BFD for serialising
JP for pretending to be interested
Bruce Carley for proofing
Complete List of Candidates Recommended
Auckland Mayor
John Tamihere
Council
Albany Ward
Julia Parfitt – Independent
John Watson – Putting People First
Albert-Eden-Puketapapa Ward
Chris Fletcher – C&R Communities and Residents
Mark Thomas – C&R Communities and Residents
Howick Ward
Sharon Stewart – Independent
Paul Young – Independent
Manukau Ward
Faanana Efeso Collins – Labour
Alf Filipaina – Labour
Manurewa-Papakura ward
Angela Dalton – Manurewa-Papakura Action Team
Daniel Newman – Manurewa-Papakura Action Team
Maungakiekie-Tamaki ward
Carmel Claridge – Better Auckland
North Shore ward
Anthony Bunting – Independent
Richard Hills – A Positive Voice for the Shore
Orakei Ward
Desley Simpson C&R – Communities and Residents
Waitakere Ward
Peter Chan – Independent
Shane Henderson – Labour Party
Waitemata & Gulf Ward
Will Maxwell-Steele – Independent
Whau Ward
Tracy Mulholland – C&R – Communities and Residents
Local Boards
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board (Hibiscus Coast Subdivision)
Brent Robinson – Positively Penlink
Sam Mills – Independent
Andy Dunn – Coast People and Penlink First
Janet Fitzgerald – Positively Penlink
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board (East Coast Bays Subdivision)
Alexis Poppelbaum – Backing the Bays
James Brown – Independent
Victoria Short – Independent
Julia Parfitt – Backing the Bays
Upper Harbour Local Board
Lisa Whyte
John McLean
Anna Atkinson – Living Upper Harbour
Margaret Miles – Independent
Callum Blair – Independent
John Laou
Albert-Eden Local Board (Maungawhau Subdivision)
Lee Corrick – C&R – Communities and Residents
Rachel Langton – C&R – Communities and Residents
Benjamin Lee – C&R – Communities and Residents
Kendyl Smith – C&R – Communities and Residents
Albert-Eden Local Board (Owairaka Subdivision)
Jose Luis Fowler – C&R – Communities and Residents
Megan Early – Independent
Margi Watson – City Vision
Monique Poirier – C&R – Communities and Residents
Puketapapa Local Board
Jonathan Subritzky – C&R – Communities and Residents
Jeffrey Johnson – C&R – Communities and Residents
Bobby Shen – Roskill Community Voice
Fiona Lai – C&R – Communities and Residents
Jon Turner – Roskill Community Voice
Ella Kumar C&R – Communities and Residents
Franklin Local Board (Waiuku subdivision)
Sharlene Druyven – Team Franklin
Gareth Manning – Team Franklin
Franklin Local Board (Pukekohe subdivision)
Ian Cummings – Independent
Andy Baker – Team Franklin
Alan Cole – Team Franklin
Logan Soole – Team Franklin
Franklin Local Board (Wairoa subdivision)
Angela Fulljames – Team Franklin
Malcolm Bell
Amanda Hopkins – Team Franklin
Manurewa Local Board
Joseph Allan – Manurewa Action Team
Melissa Atama – Manurewa Action Team
Ken Penney – Manurewa Action Team
Duncan White – Independent
Ezekiel Robson – Labour
Tabetha Gorrie – Manurewa Action Team
David Pizzini – Manurewa Action Team
Rangi McLean – Manurewa Action Team
Devonport-Takapuna Local Board
Aiden Bennett – A Fresh Approach
George Wood – Team George Wood
Toni van Tonder – A Fresh Approach
Michael Sheehy – Team George Wood
Jen McKenzie – Team George Wood
Gavin Busch – Team George Wood
Orakei Local Board
Troy Churton – C&R – Communities and Residents
Carmel Claridge – Better Auckland
Colin Davis – C&R – Communities and Residents
Troy Elliot – C&R – Communities and Residents
Isaac Mercer
Scott Milne – C&R – Communities and Residents
Sarah Powrie – C&R – Communities and Residents
Rodney Local Board (Kumeu Subdivision)
Phelan Pirrie – Rodney First
Brent Bailey – Rodney First
Danielle Hancock – Rodney First
Vicki Kenny – Rodney First
Rodney Local Board (Warkworth Subdivision)
Beth Houlbrooke – Rodney First
Ayla Walker – Rodney First
Paul Manton – Rodney First
Waitakere Licensing Trust – Ward 1
Amanda Roberts – Trusts Action Group
Nick Smale – Trusts Action Group
Waitakere Licensing Trust – Ward 2
Andrew Flanagan – Trusts Action Group
John Loau
Adam Quill – Independent
Waitakere Licensing Trust – Ward 3
Heather Tanguay – Independent
Waitakere Licensing Trust – Ward 4
Lynette Adams – Independent
Portage Licensing Trust – Ward 1
Sam Learmonth – Trusts Action Group
Catherine Farmer – City Vision
Margi Watson – City Vision
Portage Licensing Trust – Ward 2
Wayne Davis – Independent
Pam Nuttall – Labour Party
Portage Licensing Trust – Ward 3
Janet Clews – Independent
Noel Watson – Trusts Action Group
Portage Licensing Trust – Ward 4
Ben Goodale – Trusts Action Group
Mark Roberts – Future West