Three Mayoral candidates of four have responded to the idea of a debate in Tirau Hall. One expressed his intention in a video I posted on 45 day before polls close blog.
http://youtu.be/smJoEj-XwRU
So what do you know so far?
A comment on the video was from a person who has no subscribers and a few views on youtube. One of the viewed video is of the building of a geodesic domes out of electrical piping (see above)
This video I have dedicated to this election cycle. An idea and ask that they be made by everyone intending to vote in the youth community and put them out publically for other to see and ask questions about. To put them up legally all over the district.
Think I will try to encourage people to vote when they see these beautiful structures. Shops will run low on cable ties in south waikato.
The Mayoral candidates are in photo order of
Who was on video first saying they would not open the email - Alan Blair.
Who replied to the email first Tracy Dean.
Who has yet to reply to the email Jarrad Gallagher
Who declined to debate in Tirau "Deputy Mayor Debate" first - Jenny Shattock.
The pencil puppets are used in video formate when discussing the campaign. Hold one up and talk about the candidate so the watches can get to know the faces, names and vision for South Waikato District.
A university educated person liked what Alan had to say best in the South Waikato News today when I questioned them after reading the front page. When compearing all candidates quoted by the paper here are some thoughts. Alan presented best in what he was saying it was quoted in the paper. It was felt Jenny spoke about experience with out vision being mentioned. Tracy said big change but did not say what that was. And Jarrad said what Alan said on voting without saying what to vote for.
Now these are news paper sound bites and are rushed together to make the press since nominations closed 12 noon Friday.
What I know is two candidates have cars painted up and parking around with their faces on the side.
I have seen posters on wooden stakes pushed into the ground from three candidates.
But in the interests here of giving all four candidates equal space I cut the puppets out with equal area.
I did find one candidates had a photoshopped bigger head than the others and so when I took that photo tried to shrink it back to normal and natural size compared to the others.
Being photographed in front gave an advantage and with a bigger head also gave another advantage in the paper compared to the back seat on the bus position. It was nicely presented but not neurally presented and we know the council pays 10,000 of advertising in the news paper over the years so incumbent have received twice picture space in two papers than the other three combined.
Social media is 24/7 where as a news paper comes out once per week. So blogs like this will play a far bigger input into the election cycle. Videos will be played 1,000 of times. And as time goes past the candidates will be known in a different way.
Also news papers do not have comments. And it has been a trend with social media that the comments under the news items are more important in shaping public opinion.
We have seen the council face book page delete comments it did not like not knowing the ethics of social media. What was trumpeted as experience by old media is now not relavent in social media terms as memes become the way truth is propergated.
Who has not seen or watched news that has Hillary known as crocked?
Rally's chanting "lock her up" from the crowd.
These memes take hold and spread fast.
So what will be the memes in this mayoral election.
Will the picture on Alan's car give the impression of "crack head Blair"?
This has a pun in it and may make some smile and others weap that with out intention the car Spray painting left a diagonal crease from one side of Alan's head to the other. No such mistake on Jenny's car. 
But then Jenny's car goes and parks in the 15 minutes park outside council on Tuesday and sat there for the hour I was reading files on the two BP Service Stations Resourse consent process in Tirau and Tokoroa. Jenny's car was illegally parked the whole time I was there as it was in place before I arrives and stayed there after I left. Impressions like this are not intentionally given but entitlement and experience get confused. The public complain to me about the car being illegally parked. "Overstaying jenny"?
Tracey may have been quoted as "big changes" in the district by the news paper but how do we know that was true as it was paraphrased and no quote marks were used. Just like Jenny had her head photoshopped bigger than the rest by the paper how do we also not know the paper may have minimised what Tracey had said and only gave three candidates quotes and left the last candidate with out a quote.
Jarrad seems to have no neck tie on but Alan got most of his head and shoulders in the photo with area on both sides showing while Jarrad being a man was limited to half portions and only one side showing. What are we to make of that photoshopped effort of Jarrad. Visual impressions count. And a man who is half the size of the other man leaves an impression in the public eye. But Jarrad has got a great lift from the news paper coverage as everyone wants to see the new kid on the block. Elections are not won but lost. What that means is everyone has an equal chance at the start. And so Jarrod is the person who has most to lose. Some one said that he joined the race to split the male vote. Alan and Jarrad getting half each and this let a women be elected by one vote over the other. Interesting times. So every social media vote counts.
Where you park may be more important than what you park and how long you park is even more important than wearing a tie.
Responses to the debate call at Tirau Hall is showing some candidates rely too much on staff input in the submission process to shape their ideas and can not take a public submission and craft it into a vision. The council staff are notorious for creating "war chests" and will put to council $300,000 for a Putaruru water feature. This will get pruned back to $50,000 because it has rates implications and then get finally dropped. If it went in the budget then the staff and all this money are for staff to play with contractors around the district to do what ever they like on the chess Board. Lake Moananui another example of of a $700,000 budget item that then over run to over $1 dollars and little silt was removed as promised and then the water rose it hid the inaction.
Now Leith Place has $2.6 million for a child playground we were initially told and that is just the start of phase one of three with no budgets for 2nd and third. Some have estimated $21 million could be the final bill to cut down historic trees and block off McDonald's entrance way, who were up in arms at the submission process, to leave it alone. Permit Council staff preparing a war chest or do we have a vision for our 24,000 population and 10,000 rateable properties with 600 being farms.
The reason past elected members do not know how to handle the request for three debates in the Tirau hall is that they have never been asked to craft a vision for present to the community.
What has happened for the last four terms of council is money is appropriated by staff for pet projects and public excluded becomes the norm.
You see this when the lunch comes up the stairs at noon of full council meeting days.. It is the staff that crowed in around and eat it. Pet project staffers. And the Councilors leave the public out side who give up their time to submit. Public left outside with the smokers like Terry McGill while staff hog the staff room and over rule the elected members and leave the public out cold and ignored. On occasion a plate of left overs may be smuggled out from the grasping hands of the staff by an elected member but most times it is staff that clean up the left overs figuratively and literally.
Staff who should be shuffled off to the huge staff hall of the staff room they have down stairs one level and let elected members with public sharp public policy over a glass of water in stead. On public submission beating days it is time for elected members and public to break bread together. Staff just need to wait till the policy and resolutions are shaped and passed to get their work program.
Note the 47 staff cars that have been parked out the back of council and driven for the past three years home at night.. I was in Bunnings on a Friday late after noon when a staff car came in with a trailer on and loaded up building supplies for the weekend. A small car bending under the weight of live it love it discover it overloaded. These cars are purchased by council and not leased according to the policy read out by CEO HOBBS at a full council meeting.. They are in the policy that at the end of three years they are upgraded new ones again or at 50,000 km upgraded to new with the old cars disposed of. We see much of the 50,000 km are done on weekends and after work. Or even dropping off children at school and picking them up and some community members complain at this mileage for private use. Some houses have two of these sign written cars parked on the lawns at night. Public wonder about car pooling. So the staff that live way out of town burn up the miles commenting to and from work on company dime.
Mayor with a free fuel card is okay but some staff can fill up as many times as possible on the public purse as the car they drive is some how part of a "salary package" and in the past one staff member had a big boat for the weekend so the car he chose had a big 6 cylinder engine and a tow bar .
One Councilor has spent three years just to get fence built in the car park to start the car pooling process. In the frustration dealing with staff has postponed putting a spray painted disabled car park sign on bridge street as shop workers hog the car parks all day outside when old people want to park to get money from the cash machine and limit walking far on the slippery pavers. But the CEO suggested at a full council that if the sign writing was taken off the side of the cars so the public would not know or be able to identify the cars and just keep the policy as it it. Great PR.
So the Tirau debates on who the mayoral candidates will pick for as Deputy mayor are on.
And it is telling so far that some do not know how to make a decision with out staff suggesting it to them.
Others have decided to not open the email.
Taking your time to think about it after you have opened the email and read it is the right approach. 28 ward candidates have all got the same email (except Keith Silverira whose email bounced back twice) and the 28 ward must come to the mayoral candidates to start setting vision for the debate. A mayoral candidate must discuss the debates and together in a group of 5-9 people decide how to do the debates. Also help set them up and run them. The public are watching how a public submission is worked up into a social media campaigne. To see how elected members can take a poorly written sketch of a good idea and make it work in reality. Running a district of $4.5 billion of land and improvement is required by full council. Attending a debate in Tirau hall is a small ask. Getting council members together to stand in front of social media cameras is a task set for this election to see synergy before elections close.
No staff of council needed.
Just purely elected members and the public.
Only when the resolutions are passed in full council should the staff be given there work program.
Not the staff telling elected members what they fell like doing and by when and how staff want to do it.
We have seen three years the staff still driving the council cars home and councillors still have not locked up the cars at night on council property saving half the wear and tear. It is time candidates got to get her to decide what they will be telling staff and not the other way around.
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