Greg Brownless during his term as mayor from 2016-2019. Photo / File
Greg Brownless during his term as mayor from 2016-2019. Photo / File
Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless says he will run in an upcoming by-election and hopes to be a "calming influence" on the warring Tauranga City Council.
But he is already clashing with mayor Tenby Powell, who said in his view his predecessor "achieved nothing in his term", with Brownless retortingwith his opinion that the current council was hardly a success - "hence the by-election".
Last week first-term Ōtumoetai-Pyes Pā ward councillor Jako Abrie, 31, resigned, calling for the elected members to be replaced with commissioners due to dysfunction.
The council, which is awaiting recommendations from a review team brought in after a string of conflicts between elected members, confirmed a by-election must be held before February 17 to fill the seat.
Jako Abrie quit a year after being elected as councillor. Photo / File
Electoral officer Warwick Lampp of electionz.com estimated the by-election would cost just under $100,000.
Brownless' run would come just over a year after newcomer Powell pipped him of a second term as mayor.
"I think it's been long enough since the new council was elected for me to keep out of the way," Brownless said.
The 63-year-old said he would bring a "calming influence" to the role as well as knowledge and recent experience allowing him to hit the ground running.
The former funeral director was a councillor for the 15 years to 2007, returning in 2016 to win the mayoralty.
He said he didn't run for councillor in 2019 so that if he lost the mayoralty the new mayor would have a chance to do the job.
"But as has been widely reported, things aren't good at the council."
He believed not being an "alpha male" would be an advantage as the council already had a few he believed were that type.
He said he could work under Powell, even on issues where they disagreed.
His priorities were the transport network, governance of the city water supply and a "civil council" where differing views were respected.
Brownless had what he previously described as a "fairly torrid" term as mayor, beset by "countless problems" - Bella Vista, Greerton roading, Te Papa O Ngā Manu Porotakataka - that he believed voters blamed him for, rightly or wrongly.
He backed the begging ban and opposed giving 11 Mission St to iwi - two decisions the new council promptly overturned.
Powell, 60, has said he hopes someone "progressive" will take the seat and help take the city forward.
Brownless said he considered himself progressive in some areas, such as transport but not others including the council moving into the social welfare space without extra Government funding.
Powell said the decision was ultimately up to the community.
"Do they want a mayor who ... believes he is a calming influence and who achieved nothing in his term," he said in his view, "or do they want a council that actually gets stuff done despite it being, you know, reasonably challenging?"
He said the election over the weekend showed the city was changing and wanted progress.
In response, Brownless - a National Party supporter - said he had not planned to "take it to [Powell]" but would respond to criticism.
In his opinion, "it would be difficult to describe the current council as a success, hence the by-election.
"This confrontational style needs to be replaced with a genuine desire to work together on the issues."
He said achievements in his term included record GDP growth, clearing hurdles to get the Farmers redevelopment started, finishing the southern pipeline and airport upgrade and hiring a new chief executive.
Brownless is not the only former councillor putting his name forward.
Also running: Murray Guy. Photo / File
Murray Guy, a councillor for 12 years until he lost his seat in 2013, has also put his hand up, saying he has the commitment, experience and resilience needed for the difficult environment.
Guy has been unsuccessful in the last three elections, placing sixth in last year's mayoral race and fourth in the Ōtumoetai-Pyes Pā ward, which has two seats.
Anne Pankhurst previously served one term on council but has not managed to be re-elected, placing fifth in the ward in 2019. She said she would not be running.
"At some point, you have to to give up and hear what the community is saying to you."
Not running: Anne Pankhurst. Photo / File
Businesswoman Erika Harvey, who came third in the ward in 2019, was weighing her options after wrapping up her run as the Tauranga candidate for New Zealand First in the election over the weekend.
"I've been campaigning for 18 months."
She said she respected the elected members but the current council environment seemed like a "hard place to get things done".
Weighing her options: Erika Harvey. Photo / File
Other candidates from 2019 who have indicated they may consider running are Dave Bridgens, Suzi Paige and Buddy Mikaere.
Former Aquinas College student Ben Sokimi, 19, was also tossing it up. The Victoria University political communications student - who clashed with Powell during the campaign - said he was a bit wary of the role but was "certainly having a look".
Ben Sokimi in 2018. Photo / File
Council chief executive Marty Grenfell declined to comment on questions relating to Abrie's call for commissioners and comments about council dysfunction.
"This is a governance matter, and it's not appropriate that I comment greatly on governance matters.
"In saying that, Jako's pragmatic and common sense approach will be missed by our team."
