Tauranga's former mayor, Greg Brownless, is congratulating the winners of the city council election, in which he is runner-up.
Initial results show Olympian Mahé Drysdale is likely to be the city's new mayor.
Greg was Tauranga mayor from 2016 to 2019.
The last council, led by former mayor Tenby Powell, was sacked by the government in 2021 and replaced by appointed commissioners.
Greg says while he is disappointed by the result, he is pleased to see Tauranga has its own council again after being run by government-appointed commissioners since 2021.
"I felt that the commissioners had definitely outstayed their welcome, I felt that Tauranga was just as capable as choosing its own local government, its own mayor and council as anywhere else, and so for me that's a really big thing."
“I sincerely congratulate the mayor and councillors. It’s an exciting time.
“The main thing for me is that the people have been able to make a democratic choice and I’ve been consistent in my wish for that.”
Only 31 per cent of Tauranga residents voted - the lowest turnout in a decade.
"It was disappointing because that was one of the tasks the commissioners were given - to increase interest in local government elections and it would appear it's going to be one of our worst turnouts," says Greg.
“We now have democracy and even though I missed out, that’s fine. It’s part of people making their own choices.”
One of the six candidates from the council that was sacked by the government in 2021 has returned to council.
On Saturday, Mahé said the preliminary results showed voters had elected a team who could deliver a positive future for Tauranga.
"I'm very pleased with the general gist of the council, I think there's some really good skills and really passionate people," says Mahé.
“The financial skills that the new mayor and some councillors have will be able to sort out the city’s financial issues with rates and debt, and make progress at the same time,” says Greg.
“Congratulations once again, it’s always been about democracy for me, and the people have spoken.”
The final election result will be declared next week, once last-minute and special votes have been counted.
1 comment
A gentlemanly response...
Posted on 21-07-2024 15:02 | By morepork
... from Greg Brownless. (You were my number 1, Greg... :-)) The 31% turnout is very disappointing. I've given a lot of thought to this and I don't think it is because the community is generally happy with the status quo and doesn't really care about who's in charge. It seems more likely to me that people have just become inured to the fact that there is nothing they can do about it if their objections are not listened to and the community generally (not the wealthier developers and such) has disengaged from the Administration. I hope the new Mayor and Council will try to re-establish this engagement. Controversial plans for big expenditure SHOULD be put to the community as a poll so that people have a say in how their Rates get spent. Much more interaction and transparency is the kind of Administration we need.
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