MANDY SMITH
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Tim Gilbertson is quitting local government before he gets complacent or becomes a "know-it-all".
The straight-shooting farmer from Patangata, known for his dry humour and swipes at central government, has confirmed he will not seek re-election in October.
Mr Gilbertson became mayor almost by accident in 2001,
having previously served six years as an Aramoana ward councillor.
He wrested power from incumbent Hamish Kynoch with a 150 vote majority and stood unopposed in 2004.
"I stood for mayor to provide some healthy competition," he said.
"The council annoyed me so much and it had done a couple of things in Patangata I disagreed with.
"You can only spend a certain amount of time bitching and complaining before you have to put up or shut up." He admitted the win took him and many of his constituents by surprise.
A resurgent farming sector meant Central Hawke's Bay was thriving and residents were comfortable giving a new candidate a go.
They would never have taken a punt on him if times had been tough, he said.
"They would have stuck with the tried and true." Last year, the council signed off on a 9 percent rate increase over each of the next six years.
He said the blame lay squarely with central government which kept loading costly, unnecessary new projects on to them. The council has, for example, been told to upgrade its water supply.
"The government wants us to spend between $4 million and $14 million on upgrades on something that is not a problem," he said.
"There is government talk about empowering individuals and communities, but then they put a huge restriction on our ability to do so."
Mr Gilbertson said his biggest accomplishments during six years in office were upgrading the main streets of Waipukurau and Waipawa and "steady progress".
"I haven't been like Lawrence Yule, who's single-handedly created this fantastic opera house, or Barbara Arnott and her big long lunches.
"CHB people just want efficient administration and infrastructure and to get on with life."
