Ben Sandford launches mayoral campaign based on three-point plan

By Laura Smith

Local Democracy Reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·

19 Aug, 2022 10:42 PM4 mins to read

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19 August 2022 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.

Rotorua mayoral hopeful Ben Sandford launches his campaign on Wednesday evening. Photo / Andrew Warner

Lawyer and former Olympian Ben Sandford has officially launched his campaign to be mayor of Rotorua.

Sandford outlined his plan for the city, should he be elected, at the event on Thursday evening.

He is the fourth candidate running for mayor to hold a launch event, following Reynold Macpherson, Fletcher Tabuteau and Tania Tapsell.

The others running in the race are Raj Kumar, Kalaadevi Ananda and Rania Sears.

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Sandford's launch was held at Eat Streat's CBK Craft Bar & Kitchen and among the crowd were some present and hopeful councillors.

He spoke for about 25 minutes to about 100 people and outlined the three points of his plan.

These were to support communities, build capacity and smart investment.

He began his speech by describing his experience growing up in Rotorua, before attending law school, following in his father's footsteps.

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He went through how he got into skeleton, the winter sport he competed in at the Olympic level three times.

It was a journey, he said, in which he learned about resilience, team building and partnership.

It was also how he became involved in sports politics, something he said was not dissimilar to local government.

He said he moved back to Rotorua in 2016 and felt a need to give back to the community.

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Many of Rotorua's issues were global issues, he said, such as homelessness and inflation.

"We need to do all we can to make sure we are dealing with them."

A lot could be learned from looking at what was happening overseas, he said.

"The very best places I've lived are the places where I could feel the opportunities and possibilities.

"Where you know, that if you want to do something and make something possible, you can."

This was what Rotorua needed, he said.

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19 August 2022 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.

Before detailing his plan he said he understood the council was about being on a team, and he would be just one person on it.

The first point of his plan was about supporting communities. He said the Fenton St emergency housing situation was an issue of poverty, as well as being about a lack of housing - made worse by Covid-19.

"If we want to fix the underlying issues we need to be back in the communities where homeless people have come from ... this is predominantly a Government issue."

The council's role was to advocate and build better communities, and public spaces played a role in this, he said, as well as community support and neighbourhood infrastructure and lighting.

His second point was building capacity. "We have obviously underinvested in infrastructure. We need to plan for the future."

He described his final point, smart investment, as investments that paid for themselves.

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Boosting a night-time economy was part of this, he said, and did not necessarily need to involve drinking but could rather be family-focused, such as the night market.

Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend after his launch, Sandford said it had been fantastic.

When asked if his plan points were aspirational or achievable, he said, "Both". He believed he had a strategy for achieving them but said it was about teamwork too.

Emergency housing has been a hot topic for all candidates. When asked if he had a stance on people from out of town being placed in Rotorua, Sandford said it was far from ideal, but it would not be the council bringing them here.

"If there is no emergency housing available in Whakatāne, then it will be offered to you in Rotorua ... we need to advocate strongly with the Government to make sure this is not happening."

He said it was about emphasising conversations already happening. That was why a strong, articulate voice focused on solutions needed to lead the council.

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When asked if he had a stance on Rotorua reserves being used for housing, he said it was about community feedback.

"If there is a community that sees a benefit of turning part of their reserve into housing, then absolutely ... but if a community doesn't want to then they should be able to have their reserves as they are."

Sandford said more information on his plans would be released in coming weeks.