Candidates
There are 24 candidates in contention but, at present, apathy appears to be winning the race in the Hamilton City Council byelection.
But a man who has previously emerged victorious in a byelection in the city’s East Ward has revealed the secret of his success: Lots of hard work. A total
58,835 ballot papers were sent out to electors in the ward before voting opened on July 27. As of the morning of Tuesday, August 3 – one week later – just 839 votes had been received by the council.
The return equates to a 1.43 per cent response from voters. At the same point in the 2019 local body election, 6.85 per cent of voting forms had been returned.
That election ended with an impressive
39,837 of the total 102,714 electors in both of the city’s wards having their say – a final return of 38.78 per cent of voters.
The response so far in this by-election also bodes poorly when compared to the last by-election held in the East Ward in early 2018, which attracted a total 12,869 votes – or a 23.2 per cent return.
Like this by-election, the 2018 event was held to fill the seat of a councillor who had died.
In that case it was Philip Yeung, and the man who ended up filling his shoes was Ryan Hamilton – who has since gone on to become one of the movers and shakers on the city council, chairing the economic development committee, as well as the district plan committee. It was not his first crack at a seat on the council – Hamilton had experienced the sting of being an also-ran in three previous elections. But those defeats served the purpose of slowly building his profile.
‘‘That gave me a bit of an advantage, to be honest . . . but [getting elected] had been unfinished business for me. I had almost put the idea of becoming a councillor to bed when the by-election to fill Philip’s position came along, and I decided to give it another go.
‘‘The timing was good and the momentum that I had built up both worked out really well for me.’’
Visibility was just part of the equation, Hamilton said.
‘‘I think the secret of my success was knocking on doors. I think people appreciate that – it’s the most grassroots approach to electioneering you can get, and it’s still the approach that works.
‘‘It’s hard work. And it’s sobering to open up the front door and there you are in the flesh.’’
But being well known did not guarantee success for a candidate in any election – and this one was no exception, Hamilton said.
‘‘I won’t name names, but when you are a known quantity no amount of money can help you.’’
While it was an easy comparison to make, standing in the by-election was not unlike competing in the Olympics, he said.
‘‘They have to ask themselves what they are prepared to do. How much do they want it?’’
Postal voting will close at noon, Wednesday, August 18. The final results in the by-election – to fill the role left by Margaret Forsyth, who died in May – are expected to be available by 5pm that day.
Anna Casey-Cox, Ritesh Chandra, Roshni Desai, Mark Donovan, Jack Gielen, Horiana Henderson, Michelle Houghton, Peter Humphreys, Pirihira Kaio, Lisa Lewis, Ross Macleod, Riki Manarangi, Christopher Manson, Colm McKeogh, Jennifer Myers, Daniel Pascoe, Emma Pike, Naomi Pocock, Donna Pokere-Phillips, Wiremu Puke, Anna Smart, Chris Van der Aa, Kat Waswo and Ada Xiao.
■ The starting salary for a Hamilton City councillor is $74,925. If that person is made the deputy chairperson of a committee, they get $92,963. And if they become the chairperson, that income goes up to
$102,209.