Race for top job heats up

Just when it looked like the race for the Lower Hutt mayoralty could be a boring affair, it has suddenly got a bit more interesting.

One candidate, Harry Memelink, has already been scratched by electoral officer Bruce Hodgins after his cheque bounced. A second candidate, Phil Stratford, immediately tried to withdraw after seeing there were three other candidates aiming to unseat Mayor Ray Wallace.

Of the other candidates, former Eastern Ward councillor Glenda Barratt looks to have the best chance. Curiously, however, she admits that beating Wallace is a long shot. Six weeks out from election day, it is hard to predict what will emerge as the major issues.

A second access road to Wainuiomata (or even a tunnel), rejuvenating the Naenae shopping centre, the future of the Wainuiomata Mall and Petone Sportsville are all issues likely to crop up on the campaign trail.

The issues that will dominate, however, are the run down CBD, the future of Making Places, council debt and the flood control.

After years of tight financial controls, sparked by the disastrous decision to invest in a car-parking building in the early 1990s, the hand-brake has come off in recent years.

The council has invested in upgrading the Walter Nash Centre ($12m), refurbished its Laings Rd building ($23m), upgraded Riddiford Gardens ($5.4m) and spent $6.2m on a regional bowls centre. The Walter Nash Centre has been a huge success and pressure is sure to come for similar projects in areas such as Naenae and Wainuiomata.

Other projects on the books include an events centre, a new learners’ pool at Huia, facilitating a four star hotel in southern High St, a community hub in Stokes Valley and Fraser Park Sportsville. When finished and paid for it will all represent the biggest investment in the city since the days of Mayor Percy Dowse.

The biggest question mark over the future of the city is Making Places - the bold plan to turn the central city around so it faces the river by 2030.

The regional council, New Zealand Transport Agency and KiwiRail all have to fall into line for the plan to have any chance of being completed. It will also need the support of developers who own much of the land in Daly St.

Implementing Making Place is the biggest challenge facing whoever wins the mayoralty chains in October. Neighbourly users wanted to know how it would be implemented and we have asked asked the candidates to outline their plan.

* 2016 Lower Hutt mayoral candidates: James Anderson, Glenda Barratt, David Smith, Phil Stratford and Ray Wallace.

— Nicholas Boyack James Anderson is not your typical mayoral hopeful. A born and bred Hutt resident, he is a truck driver working 60 to 70 hours a week.

At 24, he is the youngest candidate in the race for the mayoralty. That, however, does not stop him from caring about the city he lives in.

‘‘I have a huge amount of passion for Lower Hutt. Over the last few years I have watched the poor performance of Lower Hutt and I believe it is time for a change.’’

The loss of businesses and their associated jobs disappoints him and is an area he would take an active interest in, if elected.

‘‘There is a long list of businesses that have packed up and moved north, and I know of several more that are looking at leaving over the next year.’’

Encouraging commercial operators to come to the Hutt has to be a priority and he would like to see council take a more co-ordinated approach to supporting businesses.

‘‘I want to work with land owners, businesses and developers to fix this problem so more business can prosper in Lower Hutt.’’

Other areas of interest include speeding up roading and infrastructure projects. His priorities are the Melling Interchange, Kennedy-Good Interchange, a second road to Wainuiomata and sorting out the ‘‘state housing problem’’ in Lower Hutt. The high number of vacant Housing New Zealand properties annoys him and is an issue he wants addressed.

One question he has been asked is why not stand for council first and get some experience?

‘‘I didn’t actually want to stand. It was an absolute lastminute decision. I would have preferred to have a good candidate that I could back. But they all seem to be the same old, same old.’’ He has no intention of becoming a career politician. ‘‘I want to get in and get the work done that I want to achieve, and then go back to the transport industry.’’

Howwould you deliver Making Places?

The current track record of Hutt City council projects coming in under/on budget isn’t great - More in-depth planning and spending controls would need to be implemented along with timely reporting and more frequent updates to councillors so this can bemonitored more carefully. Wehave awardwinning leaders in the construction industry who reside in Lower Hutt, I would bring them to the table for advise and to cross-check on the costings. A former Hutt City councillor and candidate on the Team Ray Wallace ticket is making a comeback bid.

And that bid includes a direct challenge against her old boss for the Hutt City mayoralty.

Glenda Barratt, a former three-term Hutt City councillor is having a crack at both the mayoralty and an Eastern Ward seat at this year’s local body elections.

Barratt was on council for nine years until being voted off in 2007.

The 60-year-old said her break from council had given her a good opportunity to take stock of whether politics still interested her. It did.

‘‘I’ve always followed what has been happening in the city. I love local body politics.’’

Barratt paid credit to Wallace for presiding over an effective council and for leading the charge on rejuvenating the central city. But she believed nobody holding such an office should go in to an election without there being a proper contest.

Where the city was letting down its ratepayers was in Naenae and its surrounds, she said.

‘‘The Eastern Ward needs a lot of work done. We need a new Naenae hub. I understand there is something planned for the future but we need it now.’’

Taita’s Walter Nash Centre was a great example of the sort of facility she wanted to see in Naenae, where what had once been ’’a vibrant area where families could have everything at their fingertips’’ had turned for the worse.

Visitors from out of town visiting the new bowling hub in Naenae would be best advised to avoid the Naenae shops, she said. ’’It’s not great now. It’s messy, it’s an embarassment.’’ She was looking forward to a good mayoral contest. ‘‘Do I think Im going to beat Ray Wallace? I would say I would be hard pressed to.

‘‘But do I think I’m just as passionate about the city as Ray Wallace is? Absolutely, 100 per cent.’’

GLENDA BARRATT

Howwould you deliver Making Places?

Making placeswas always a 20 year plan and much of it has been done. The promenade has been held up by Greater Wellington Regional Council flood work that’s soon to be sorted. This will really revitalise the central city. I want a strict budget that’s adhered to.