Local Focus: Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless hits back at challengers

Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless wants the top job again.

"There's been some high-profile mistakes, high-profile reckoning and facing up to those issues," he said. "So if that's the sort of person who you want to be mayor then I'm happy to continue."

Brownless said he's not worried by the recent announcement of candidates running against him, including high-profile businessman Tenby Powell and former Race Relations Commissioner and squash champion Dame Susan Devoy.

"I know one in particular was going for the mayoralty for Auckland a few years back so maybe they decided Tauranga was another option," Brownless said. "One or two are looking for a job and that's fine as well.

"No matter what position you're in - the mayor, councillor, member of Parliament or Prime Minister, there will always be people who want to do the job."

Brownless' biggest challenger might be his own deputy, Kelvin Clout.

"We have some things we agree on, we have some things we don't agree on. I opposed Phoenix Park changing from a carpark to a park. I voted against that and Kelvin was for it.

"I think the council are looking at tweaks, and in hindsight if they listened to me in the first place we wouldn't have this disaster ... I opposed it every step of the way and people need to be aware of that.

"Unfortunately, only three of us voted against it, so it's done. I felt that if people wanted to sit down somewhere in Mount Maunganui, they would go to the most obvious place and that's the beach. They wouldn't want to sit in what's turned out to be a concrete park in the middle of the city."

Brownless said transport and housing are the two biggest issues facing Tauranga.

"Nobody in Tauranga will thank the council for putting in more houses while the roading, transport and congestion is in such a mess."

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