Invercargill Mayoralty Gains National Attention (vote in our poll)

Invercargill’s Mayoral race has become a Southern ‘reality show’ being watched by the entire nation – and everyone has their opinion on it.

What’s on Invers decided to interview the top four likely contenders and who also, are either currently on, or have been on council.

Marcus Lush politely declined to be interviewed for this story. But we can tell you the 57-year-old likes big parks, museums and trams.

Former Deputy Mayor Toni Biddle, who has come back into the game, said she commends Cr Lush for his new ideas, “but the reality of the role at this time is more than just promising unaffordable projects.

“The world has changed post Covid-19, so vanity projects keep piling up and never get started, unless our measure of success is our Chinese Garden reduced to half the size and delivered over budget?”

She believes investing in people is the key, and said most of what is done in Invercargill for the community is done by the community, “which is how we got our city rebuilt, so why wouldn’t we connect the two?

“We can’t expect our ratepayers to fund things we cannot afford anymore.”

Current Deputy Mayor Nobby Clark would back her on the cutting back the spending, but he’s also a Virgo and just wants to get things done.

Elected in 2019 as the highest-polling councillor, he’s our current top contender ( backed up by our poll), and doesn’t let go of issues.

Nobby has been Sir Tim Shadbolt’s deputy for close to two years after Toni decided to step away from council in the middle of the term in 2020.

Tolerant of minority groups and their different needs, if elected as Mayor, he will make sure that the 40 disabled workers at Recycle South (formerly Southland disAbility Enterprises), maintain their jobs to 2027 – as initially promised.

Nobby said it was about having a caring side to the community and looking out for those who are vulnerable.

Darren Ludlow is another of Shadbolt’s former deputies with his eye on the top job, and ran second to Shadbolt in the 2019 mayoral election.

We asked him if he had that X-factor, and he agreed there was “absolutely a side to the role that involves showmanship – and with my several decades in radio, theatre, hosting many public events and speaking arrangements, it is a skill-set to have.”

He knows what grabs the media’s attention (for both good and not so good reasons), and admits there are times at council when he could easily throw out a sound bite to grab a headline, “but I don’t feel that needs to be part of our discussion or debating process. Those skills are best saved for events and occasions.”

:::::::::Mayoral Poll: Invercargill City ratepayers vote below.::::::::
This poll will run till next weekend. Next week is a big week with the Chamber of Commerce ‘Big Debate’ a mayoral debate with speed dating the candidates on Wednesday and voting papers go out late next week:::::::

Darren’s working to rebuild trust around the council table and would like more residents to feel like their council has heard them, understood the local perspective on issues, and made decisions in the best interests of the people, rather than their own agenda.

“We’re starting at a low point, to be fair, so placing emphasis on keeping everyone on-track and within the rules is my big thing. Sometimes the most popular answers aren’t the best ones, and we need to do better at explaining some of the decisions we’ve made.”

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Back to Nobby and his take on the trams. Apparently he’s already looked into having them re-instated before, and the cost of installing railway lines and overhead power sources is well over $1 million/km, questioning “where do we source the trams themselves?”

He does have a bright idea about a Southern Lights Walking Trail, that won’t cost much and also provides more lighting for pedestrians at night – and to enhance safety of areas such as Queen’s Park.

Toni’s idea of joint ventures between council and community groups to take ownership for events and projects in the city, “giving them a sense of pride,” would also increase engagement with council, and cut external contractors costs.

“We have the businesses and expertise right here in our community. There are lots of low-cost, low hanging fruits that can bring real benefits, just ask the people.”

Describing herself as a bit of a connector, Toni said she’s a person who can “bring people together,” and one way was to redirect funds from unnecessary capital expenditure to the Community Wellbeing fund “and invest more into things that will impact the community immediately.”

Toni said she never stopped working for her people – but coming back into council was all about the timing and preparing to lead effectively.

“You have to build a team that shares that same vision, and that all comes from leadership that inspires, not dictates.”

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