Before canning the event altogether, he made an attempt to bring Raggamuffin back to Rotorua, asking the Rotorua Lakes Council if they would be prepared to have it back.
He said he wanted the chance to win back the locals. But the horse had bolted and the council said no.
The council's reasoning is the city is already committed to other events.
While the haters will say the council is foolish to let such a big event that brought millions of dollars into the city go by, in my opinion it made the right move.
Raggamuffin was great. For those few years on that weekend Rotorua turned into another city. The red, green and yellow flags were flown all over the city and dreadlocks were everywhere.
It was a peaceful, well-run festival that attracted very few problems - the police have confirmed this.
But as each year passed, the festival lost its punch. I was one of those locals who stopped going.
It wasn't that the acts weren't good or I didn't want to support it, it's just I had been there and done that. It was time for something new.
It was good hear Mr McManus admit the festival should never have been taken away from Rotorua.
This city gave that festival everything - hundreds of people including those who work at the council worked long and hard to make it a success.
It's just its time was up.
