Transport and housing
Almost everyone talked about getting the roads moving.
Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless was sticking to his strategy of taking the Government to task over funding as well as looking for other ways to fund infrastructure.
Both he and Tenby Powell mentioned their support for multi-modal solutions, including better cycle lanes.
Deputy mayor Kelvin Clout fielded a tricky question about whether he had ever taken a bus to the airport (there isn't one).
Having said he had not, then - having been informed there was not one - pivoted to his love of running half-marathons and the "energy" theme of his campaign.
There was near-unanimous support among candidates for the council taking over the city's bus services and providing free rides for kids.
Clout was also for three-landing 15th Ave and Hairini Bridge to create a tidal flow system but Hollis said it needed to be four lanes all the way through, immediately.
Les Wallen advocated for "getting rid of the yellow monkeys [buses] running around town empty" and looking into passenger rail between Papamoa and Tauranga.
Several candidates, including Powell, Brownless and Clout, said the city needed to intensify and build skywards to create housing, especially in the CBD.
John Robson said the numbers did not yet stack up for intensification, with prohibitive land prices.
Begging
Brownless and Clout were the only two to put their hands up and back the controversial begging bylaw the council launched in April, and reaffirmed support for this week.
Later, Powell said using a bylaw to "sweep the homeless out of the city" was not a plan.
Brownless denied the council was trying to move the homeless out. It was working with social agencies and the Government, which was responsible for welfare, to help those people.
"The bylaw has stopped people sleeping within 5m of some poor shopkeeper's doorway... and I actually thought it had the support of downtown Tauranga," he said, to some applause.
Business and the CBD
Powell said the CBD was in "crisis" and the council lacked empathy for the retailers.
Brownless said that "despite [his] leadership" the city's GDP growth was leading New Zealand.
Wallen and Powell, along with Andrew Hollis and Christopher Stokes, were for the council giving financial assistance to the CBD retailers during the construction disruption, though Powell said ratepayers should not be subsidising businesses.
Stokes wanted cruise passengers charged a tariff that could be used to support businesses.
Robson said commercial ratepayers had for years, not been paying their fair share compared to other councils around New Zealand, and a better rating differential was needed.
On a question about a possible economic downturn, Clout said the council should "not waste a good recession" and it may present an opportunity to get some construction over the line for less.
