Category: Politics

Simon Marsh answers our questions

We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Simon Marsh who is stand­ing in the East­ern Ward has stepped up.

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?
It’s a city with a beat­ing heart and good people. You’ll love WOW, The Sev­ens, Te Papa, City Gal­lery, shop­ping and busi­ness oppor­tun­it­ies.

2. How do you think traffic flow to the hos­pit­al and air­port could be improved?
Safer cyc­ling routes, wider roads, con­veni­ent and reli­able pub­lic trans­port, pro­gress on Basin Reserve/Mt Vic bot­tle­neck.

3. Where do you stand on the issue of open­ing up gov­ern­ment data?
All data? We com­pete in a glob­al mar­ket, why tell the world our plans before we imple­ment them.

4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facil­it­ies?
Roll on house­hold recyc­ling wheel­ib­ins. Offer each house­hold one annu­al free dump pass for green waste only.

5. What is your policy on street alco­hol­ics?
Sup­port the Sal­va­tion Army and oth­ers that have the skill but few funds to help.

6. Do you sup­port ped­es­tri­an­isa­tion of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
No, it’s imprac­tic­al for an age­ing pop­u­la­tion and also will incur major flow prob­lems with pub­lic trans­port on the adja­cent roads.

7. What’s the last loc­al mar­ket you went to? What did you buy?
Chaf­fers, Broc­coli.

8. Describe your bicycle, or your favour­ite bus route?
Two wheels, grey and No 11.

Mike Mellor answers our questions

We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Mike Mel­lor who is stand­ing in the East­ern Ward has stepped up.

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?

John Bishop answers our questions

We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and John Bish­op who is stand­ing in Lamb­ton Ward has stepped up.

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?

A raft of won­der­ful enter­tain­ment and recre­ation in a com­pact city – good for mind, body and soul

2. How do you think traffic flow to the hos­pit­al and air­port could be improved?

Wider roads, more buses and more space for cyc­lists. Per­haps light rail too depend­ing on cost

3. Where do you stand on the issue of open­ing up gov­ern­ment data?

Shine the light.

4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facil­it­ies?

Lids on bins to reduce rub­bish blow­ing about. Sup­port council’s new plan for kerb­side sort­ing

Marcus Ganley answers our questions

We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Mar­cus Gangley who is stand­ing in the Lamb­ton Ward has stepped up.

Mark Greening answers our questions

 We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Mark Green­ing who is stand­ing in the Lamb­ton Ward has stepped up.

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?

Wow, a cap­it­al city with the heart of a vil­lage. Water­front vis­tas, green hills, amaz­ing: cof­fee, food, art and cul­ture!

Rex Nairn answers our questions

 We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Rex Nairn who is stand­ing in South­ern Ward has stepped up.

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?

Cent­ral city har­bour jew­el

A zephyr blows through

Event and party H.Q.

2. How do you think traffic flow to the hos­pit­al and air­port could be improved? 

Can’t get through the CBD

Trans­port sys­tem, hah!

Buses, not auto­mo­biles

3. Where do you stand on the issue of open­ing up gov­ern­ment data?

Sorry some stuff you can’t see

Most of it you should

Noth­ing to hide from no-one

4. What plans do you have to improve recycling/composting facil­it­ies?

We need to reduce our waste

Com­post organ­ics

Put it on pub­lic gar­dens

Kris Price answers our questions

We offered to pub­lish the answers from any can­did­ates in the loc­al body elec­tions and Kris Price who is stand­ing in the Lamb­ton Ward stepped up for his “15 page views of fame”. 

1. You have 30 seconds to con­vince someone to come to Wel­ling­ton. What’s your pitch?
Show them a photo of our beau­ti­ful Wel­ling­ton at its best on a sunny day. (Then tell them not to come dur­ing winter.)

2. How do you think traffic flow to the hos­pit­al and air­port could be improved?
Two words: Light Rail.

3. Where do you stand on the issue of open­ing up gov­ern­ment data?
Mmm sweet data. I’m ser­i­ously anal retent­ive about data. Let’s open it all up.

4. What plans have do you have to improve recycling/composting facil­it­ies?
I want to see our bor­ing ovoid black trash cans replaced with col­our­ful trash cans that sep­ar­ate glass, plastic, paper, and gen­er­al trash.

5. What is your policy on street alco­hol­ics?
I sup­port a wet house and get­ting the DHB involved in treat­ment.

6. Do you sup­port ped­es­tri­an­isa­tion of the Golden Mile? Why/Why not?
Yes. Ped­es­tri­ans are equal users of our streets­cape. It beau­ti­fies, increases val­ues, gives recre­ation, and goes hand-in-hand with PT route, which must hap­pen.

7. What’s the last loc­al mar­ket you went to? What did you buy?
Uh-oh. I’m guess­ing New World isn’t the answer you’re look­ing for. Hilo farm­ers mar­ket about a month back count? ‘Spose that’s hardly loc­al.

And the rest of the election

 Some people have asked why we only sent out ques­tions to the may­or­al can­did­ates, not coun­cil­lor-wan­nabes or people run­ning for com­munity and health boards. That’s a val­id ques­tion. To be hon­est, it was partly because may­ors tend to be the ones that attract the head­lines, but also because there are a met­ric butt­load of can­did­ates from all over the city and I just did not have the time to deal with all of them. How­ever, since I’ve now dis­covered that one of my favour­ite tutors from uni is run­ning (he had such a hard-on for the NZ elect­or­al sys­tem, it was ador­able), I’ve thought a little bit more about the whole thing. So, let’s see if the can­did­ates are at where you are at. If any­one run­ning for any pos­i­tion is read­ing this (I won’t be approach­ing any­one), please feel free to answer the ques­tions that we asked the may­or­al can­did­ates, answer accord­ing to the rules, and send them to me – joanna@wellingtonista.com, and you’ll get your moment in the sun here on the Wel­ling­tonista.