Vanessa Neeson is standing for Auckland mayor in the 2010 local body elections. She provided this statement:
I am Vanessa Neeson, for 18 years a Waitakere City Councillor and fiercely Independent.
I am standing because I do not want Auckland run by the main political parties with Aucklanders being held to ransom.
This isn't personal against John Banks or Len Brown, but can you imagine a National-led government making life easy for Mayor Len Brown? Of course it won't! It will want him to look bad in order to get a National mayor next time If John Banks wins, the Government will certainly remind him where his political allegiances lie. And the reverse will be true with a Labour Government.
Party politics must not run Auckland. Aucklanders must decide freely what they want and personal politics should be left at the door to the Council chamber.
But you can't have a rookie as Mayor. The politics and bureaucratic manoeuvring will make conducting normal business a huge trap for the unwary. To have bold, innovative and yet prudent leadership is going to demand a great deal of political savvy and experience in change leadership.
I am savvy and have been helping to manage change for two decades as Waitakere used a combination of vision, economic understanding and political astuteness to make itself the transformational leader in the Auckland region. It has been visionary, smart and effective and I have been a part of it. It has led on such matters as building social capital through public/private/NGO partnerships, housing intensification, public transport, town centre revitalisations and environmental protection.
That's why I'm standing. The length of my experience in local body innovation, combined with complete independence, give me credentials second to none. No other mayoral candidate has anything like the same local body political experience and skill sets. I even know how to defeat graffiti.
What will I do if I am mayor? I will tell Government that we want: partnership - not marching orders; GST on rates (a tax on a tax) removed; a larger, more equitable, share of tax revenue; and more say on how Government money is spent in Auckland - so that it contributes to holistic answers tailored to the Auckland region.
The CEO and bureaucracy will be accountable and transparent and I will maintain the tightest possible relationship with CCOs, so that Auckland gets the infrastructure and the efficiencies we've been promised, not a series of self-serving empires. The tail will not wag the dog on my watch. Nor will I tolerate a "boys' club" (or a "girls' club").
I will drive things that are good for the whole region. Some things must be first class: public transport; water and waste water provision; the airport and waterfront. We need a vibrant business sector, economies of scale and, innovative 21st century solutions to all issues.
Finally, I will be consultative. Auckland is an accidental merger of widely different communities and the local people know best how they want their community to develop. I will listen and then facilitate them to reach for their own particular star.
