Gloves off as Fletcher comes out swinging

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Auckland Mayor Christine Fletcher is going into election week fighting for her political life against polls putting her behind challenger John Banks.

She is also facing accusations of running a feeble campaign.

Last night, she was firing back her own arrows, accusing Mr Banks of pushing an electoral spending limit and left-wing rival Matt McCarten of gambling with Auckland's future.

Of Mr Banks, she said it was impossible to hire a truck and a sound system for street-corner "shouting at people" within a $70,000 campaign spending limit.

And she called Mr McCarten a dilettante, who was playing a dangerous hand by splitting her vote at the risk of leaving the field open for "bigotry and racism", while crucial infrastructure projects were left up in the air.

Both challengers saw her attack as a mark of desperation by a lacklustre candidate staring at possibly defeat, although Mr Banks did not believe his lead was as clear as shown by a weekend newspaper poll putting him five percentage points ahead.

"It's going to be tight. We believe we are slightly out in front, but our polling indicates both Mrs Fletcher and Matt McCarten in second place close behind us."

The newspaper telephone poll of 430 people, with a margin of error of 4.7 per cent, found 41 per cent support for Mr Banks against 36 per cent for Mrs Fletcher and 18 per cent for Mr McCarten.

Mr Banks said his own polling showed Mr McCarten, a doggedly aggressive campaigner for whom he professed "a great deal of respect", running very close to the incumbent.

He played down support for Mrs Fletcher from Auckland Central Labour MP Judith Tizard, who is Prime Minister Helen Clark's ministerial assistant on Auckland issues, saying he had been scared she might have backed him instead.

He said he was a seasoned campaigner with bank managers and accountants among his volunteers. They were scrutinising every last item of spending, ready for a statutory declaration in the High Court that it was within the legal limit.

Mr McCarten, who is president of the Alliance, said Labour MPs were among about 200 voluntary workers on his campaign.

Hauraki Labour MP John Tamihere told the Herald yesterday after attending an early "victory party" at the waterfront Lenin Bar that he was delivering pamphlets for Mr McCarten "and rumour has it I am going to vote for him".

Mrs Fletcher angrily denied being a less than energetic campaigner, but said her civic responsibilities meant much of her time was spent on functions with limited vote-winning potential, such as her welcome last night to delegates to an international conference of deaf and blind people.

"I have been doing at least 20 public functions a week for three years," said Mrs Fletcher.

"This is not just, oh, suddenly I'm bored with my life and I want to be mayor. I have been conscientiously working with Aucklanders and that has not stopped for the period of this campaign. I am not into standing on street corners shouting at people. I am interested in serious discussions of policy."

Mr McCarten said the incumbent seemed to have only just woken to the fact there was a campaign on, and the people of Auckland were realising she did not deserve a job which she had not worked to retain.

Feature: Local body elections 2001

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