‘There isn’t much I would do differently’
Member of sacked council enters race for the mayoralty in July’s elections
Former deputy mayor Tina Salisbury wants to leave the past behind her as she bids for the Tauranga mayoralty in the upcoming election. Salisbury was part of the council that was dismissed by former local government minister Nanaia Mahuta.
The Tauranga City councillors had served just over a year of their term and were ousted in December 2020 because of infighting and significant governance issues.
They were replaced in February 2021 by a four-person commission, led by Anne Tolley.
The commission’s term is soon ending with elections for a mayor and nine councillors taking place on July 20.
Salisbury said she was not involved in the interpersonal politics of the previous council.
“The city needs to move forward and leave all that behind us. We need to get on with the job because the job is big.”
Asked if she would do anything differently if she were to be elected, Salisbury said: “There really isn’t much I would do differently.
“I was values-driven then, and I’m values-driven now. I worked hard then, I will work hard now.
“My only regret is that I didn’t have the opportunity to complete the work that I was elected to do and I’m asking for that opportunity now as mayor.”
Asked if she would have any concerns if other members of the previous council were elected, she said: “I trust the city to elect good people to lead the city and I will work with whoever is elected.”
Salisbury is only running for mayor and not as a councillor in her home ward of Welcome Bay.
“I was initially going to run for both, but I just felt like what we need is a decisive leader in our city and so, in running, I would like to be that leader.
“Welcome Bay, it’s my home, but I think we need decisive leadership.”
She said she decided to run again because she understands the complexities in Tauranga, having already been on council.
“I learned a lot in that process and feel that I can bring a different style of leadership to the city to be a part of the solution.”
Salisbury was a first-time councillor when she was elected in 2019 and was appointed deputy mayor after Larry Baldock resigned from that role in June 2020, while remaining a councillor.
Asked how her style differed from past leaders, she said: “Perhaps politics in general. I think we all would like to see a culture change in the way politics is done, the way councils are run, and I think I would bring that.”
She said her style was “decisive and collaborative”.
“I engage, listen, I can pull people together. I’m a team person and I think that’s how we’re going to find the solutions, we’re going to do it together.”
Salisbury said, if elected, her key priorities would be to address the housing shortage, build a connected city through transport and infrastructure, value community and foster collaboration.
She has been a business owner, a church pastor and became a justice of the peace in 2021.
After her time on the council, Salisbury was part of the Wednesday