Byelection voting begins this week

Action in the Mount/Papamoa ward election is hotting up with voting papers arriving in letterboxes this week and the five candidates officially permitted allowance by the Tauranga City Council to put up election signs.


The five candidates running in the Mount/Papamoa ward election.

Voting papers should start arriving in the 31,409 electors' mailboxes today or Wednesday.

The ballot closes at noon on February 17, with the new Tauranga City councillor expected to be announced later that day.

Two of the five candidates have managed a bit of a media profile in the build-up so far – Clare Wilson's support for the jandal fence captured public imagination and a lot of on line support.

Former city councillor Murray Guy also made the news complaining about stringent new rules interpretation governing election campaign signs.

Murray's concern is the new forms that have to be filled out over campaign signage means council staff are interfering with the electoral process, and embarking on a process that will cost ratepayers.

Every campaign sign has to have its location approved. Candidates are required to complete forms, which identify the quantity and specific location of any sign, and all signs have to be approved by TCC's transportation and parking department.

Murray says the old system didn't impose additional costs on the ratepayer because monitoring staff that ensured candidate signs obeyed the rules were already employed by council.

Five candidates in a ward election aren't going to tax staff resources, but Murray's concern is processing the signage rights of the 50 or more candidates in local body elections, including district health board and regional council hopefuls, will take many hours for council staff to process, and cost ratepayers.

TCC manager legal and governance Kirsty Downey-McGuire says The Street Use and Public Places Bylaw 2013 'contains provisions relating to the signs on public land”.

The bylaw requires approval be obtained from council for the siting of election signs on or in a public place.

The bylaw also requires those signs to comply with TCC's local elections signs policy, which includes the requirement that no sign be displayed in a public place without written council permission.

A process has been created to ensure the council is consistent in applying the bylaw, elections signs do not present a risk to public safety, the council remains impartial in the process and public places are managed for the wellbeing of the public.

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2 comments

Mounties don't need a Tauranga interloper

Posted on 27-01-2015 09:49 | By Councillorwatch

There's a bigger issue here than moaning about rules for signs. Should Mounties and Papamoa people vote for an interloper to be their councillor? Definition of an interloper is someone trying to become involved in a place they don't belong. I'd have thought the Mount Papamoa ward councillor should at least be someone who has lived in the ward and not a Tauranga interloper???


Who is Councillorwatch referring to?

Posted on 29-01-2015 22:02 | By Murray.Guy

I gather all candidates either live in the ward, or have lived in the Ward. In my case I wouldn't be surprised if I have had a longer relationship with the Mount/Papamoa than the rest of the candidates combined.


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