Sir Bob
Six-term former Waitakere mayor talks leadership, the good and ugly.
political election campaign.
I picked up hints along the way from Norman Kirk and David Lange and then when my time came to stand for the mayoralty of Waitakere I tried to bring their wisdom to my campaign. That I was successful, and held that job through six elections, was really understanding that leadership has many hats but the one to wear every day is truth and transparent honesty.
The presidential election in the United States needs clear understanding of what you stand for and for all his shock tactics Trump has this in spades, he speaks in a direct language and as troubling as it may be to us, he resonates while Clinton gives us a granny speech which is stomachturning.
I learnt quickly that you could never go into an election without a strong issue whether it be change, job creation, or the big ones like the environment which I picked and it carried me to victory.
They say in politics: ‘‘It’s wrong to be right, too soon’’. The other thing I’ve learnt is that New Zealanders will do anything that you ask them but nothing if you tell them, although Prime Minister John Key did ask us to vote for a flag we didn’t like. If he’d asked us to vote for Red Peak we would have.
I always admit mistakes and apologise immediately with deep sincerity, it’s the hardest one for any politician to fake. I regarded