Ryan Bridge: Are local elections a flop?

At what point do you say this local government election's a failure, a flop, not worth the paper it's written on?

I think we're fast approaching that point now. 

Even in Auckland - our biggest city. Super-City. With the most responsibility, the biggest burden to shoulder after amalgamation, the turnout with two weeks left to go is 9.2%. Last year it was 35%.

That's not a mandate. It's a vote of no confidence in the entire system. 

If you think about it, it's not like Kiwis aren't engaged in democracy. We come in national elections at a rate closer to 80%. 

So, you ask yourself, what's the problem with local government? Two things. 

1. Too many of them. You axe all regional councils, half the number of local ones. And turn the system from Council-Mayor to Mayor-Council. We have 78 local authorities for 5 million people. It's nuts. 

Once they get to the council table, the mayor becomes a cuck to whatever looney tune nut-bar has made it on there with a few hundred votes and a dream of rising bikes to work. 

People don't vote because the power is too evenly shared. We vote in a guy who's just told the ratepayers group to go "F-off" - even he struggles to shake things up. 

So, we need a better system. Most councils should be put in the bin. And we need a strong mayor system, where the mayor has veto power over legislation, appoints department heads, and controls the budget.

One man, or woman, one plan. Get it done.

Until then, there's no point in voting for a hodgepodge bunch of do-nothing naval gazers sitting round thinking about what's on the menu for the next ratepayer funded lunch.

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