Editorial: Fair go for all needed

Tauranga mayoral contender Mike Baker was told to cover up election messages on his car. Photo / John Borren

Local body elections are upon us, but it seems Tauranga council doesn't want us to know who is standing.

Tauranga mayoral contender Mike Baker was told to cover up election messages on his car, as John Cousins reported yesterday, due to council rules that prohibit candidates from putting out signs until September 14 - only six days before election papers are mailed out.

This rule is peculiar to the Tauranga council. As Mr Baker points out, election signs are already mushrooming in Auckland and Rotorua. It's encouraging to know there are people who want to get involved in local politics and make a difference in their community. Who are they?

Candidates have limited time and resources to communicate their message to voters. Our choice of candidates depends on their skills and commitment to the job, not just their catchy slogan - but slogans and signs do help us identify them in the first place, so we can then delve deeper.

It hardly seems democratic for the incumbent council to set a rule that limits new candidates to market themselves. While Mayor Stuart Crosby does not agree that the current system gives sitting councillors an advantage, in my view it clearly does. Existing councillors have had three years of profile. To level the playing field, I do not see why all new candidates cannot simply be given longer to promote themselves.

A longer promotion period could also attract more of us to make the effort to vote. Only 46 per cent of Tauranga people bothered to exercise their democratic rights in 2010, despite a large number registering to vote. Registrar of Electors Lesley Christophers said Tauranga's 98 per cent enrolment rate was one of the highest in New Zealand.

What causes such a large number of potential voters to tune out after enrolling? Apathy? Or because they do not know enough about the candidates?

Everything possible should be done to encourage people to vote. Arguably, decisions made by local council have more impact on people's lives than the national government.

A look at the situation in Egypt or North Korea reminds us how fortunate we are to live in a democracy. We get the opportunity to have a say in our future. Election signs on roadsides and decals on cars can be brash and unsightly. But they are necessary to a full and fair democratic process. The rules about no signage until September 14 are not fair to all, and therefore, not fair to us, the voting public.