International parallels and early morning emails
SOME election campaign signage has been adjusted in predictable ways, but at least one effort was unconventional.
It prompted Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins to wonder if he had come across the most polite or committed vandalism ever.
‘‘Manually unscrewing the sign, turning it around, and screwing it back in?’’
Someone was dedicated to their task, certainly.
In an unrelated observation, Mr Hawkins noted ‘‘we’re in an advertising arms race with campaigns who want to undo the progress we’ve made’’.
Campaign signage for Dunedin candidate Lee Vandervis includes a nod to Hollywood and a photo of the
South Seas Exhibition, which Dunedin hosted in 192526.
The Otago Daily Times asked Cr Vandervis what this imagery signified.
The Hollywoodstyle font is a reference to musician Frank Zappa and his line about politics being the entertainment branch of industry, and for Cr Vandervis it denotes some suspicion of oldboys’ networks.
And the exhibition?
‘‘A little less than 100 years ago Dunedin had the talented people and vision to create the extraordinary South Seas Exhibition on the back of high productivity, close to where our underused stadium now sits,’’ Cr Vandervis said.
The council of the day put a small surcharge on the tram ride to the exhibition, ‘‘which paid for our main town hall to be built without going into large debt to build it’’.
Dunedin still had a remarkable range of talented people, but a vision for progressive, innovative industry had lately been lacking, he said.
The colours of Otago and Ukraine appear — ‘‘a warning that the world economy is under threat and that we need to look to our own resources to maintain our quality of life in Dunedin’’.
Now you know.
Quote from an August 23 Invercargill City Council meeting, when the chairman was momentarily lost: ‘‘Where are you, your worship?’’
A quote from the Team Dunedin website: ‘‘We will uphold the law at all times.’’ Reassuring.
Last week’s observation that candidates at a Dunedin mayoral debate were united in not taking the fight to Mr Hawkins prompted Richard Seager to offer a critique of the mayor’s October 2021 presentation to the Local Governments for Sustainability network. The forum’s subject was: ‘‘I’ve declared a climate emergency, now what do I do?’’
Mr Seager did not hear much evidence of actual doing getting done, and I can confirm his commentary was combative.
An email from Mr Seager drawing attention to this was sent to me at 4.54am.
More from Mr Seager: ‘‘Get rid of the main thoroughfare through Dunedin, nobody needs it. Put it out the back.’’
Dunedin mayoralty candidate Mandy MayhemBullock has included some oldstyle campaigning in her activities, jumping on a soapbox.
Asked what she was likely talking about when thus pictured, Mrs MayhemBullock said she was probably discussing her wellbeing focus.
The term soapbox originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap. So says Wikipedia.
Dunedin city councillor Doug Hall is not seeking reelection, gets a mention for wit at this week’s council meeting.
Mr Hawkins had suggested councillors should avoid trying to get chief financial officer Gavin Logie to speculate on the Waipori investment fund’s prospects.
Cr Hall: ‘‘How’s the Waipori Fund looking into the future
. . .?’’