Monday, December 16, 2013

Len Brown--Mayor of Auckland because there is no other obvious choice!

Morals aside for a few moments and performance being the main contributor to Len Brown's win at the last local body elections (questionable, according to many of you living in Auckland, maybe!) one must ask---what to do about the current furore surrounding his 'transgressions? I have swung from not worrying about his moral stance and tried to base my judgment about the Mayor, simply on his ability to 'do his job and run Auckland well. I am increasingly disturbed by what we are hearing in the media about the events of the last few years.  I am suspicious of the 'voices' we are listening to; those who set themselves up as 'clean and without 'sin.' There has to be a way forward, for Auckland, not just the players in the 'game.'
The water is muddied by his 'dalliance' and the continual enlargement of the whole affair, driven by the media and many 'electors' who have since changed their mind about who and what they think is important for a 'mayor to be.' I have always found it difficult to judge him merely by his 'exploits, I'd rather leave that to his wife and family and let him get on with doing what we put him there for, much of which I agreed with in his last term.
It now appears that his ability to deliver is going to be compromised by what has gone on because those he must work with find it impossible or choose not to work with him now. It seems that the process of running our fair city is now being dragged down into moralistic and sectional interest group squabbling. Hell, there was enough of that under the name of 'political persuasion', without the current hijacking of attention. A city cannot run with all of this going on. Take Toronto and it's embattled Mayor; they too have reached that point where 'city business' is stalled while they flay around with their personal hates, positioning and quasi-religious outrage. Is that what we want for Auckland?
It seems that is exactly what we have inherited. If it wasn't Len's 'affair,' I think it would have been something else, because there are those out there who do not like the direction Len Brown was taking us. In the meantime, we are all being dragged into this debate about how an individual in a high place 'lives his life' and that he must somehow rise above  being human and represent a 'shining example' of moral virtue. I as a voter did not put him there to play out that role.
I am angry that we have arrived at this situation and now that is has taken so much energy and time, I believe that Len is now in an impossible position. He is 'dead in the water,' unable to lead or introduce policy, because there are those on the Council taking this opportunity to continue a campaign to unseat Len Brown. That all equates to a city that has been taken hostage to the ideas of a significant proportion of its populace who would like us all to live in the manner that they hold close to their beliefs.
I have reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that Len must resign and go back to the electorate. If the majority then decide to put him back in, then fine----leave it at that. For the life of me, I cannot see any candidates who would stand out above him; at least ones that are capable of winning. John Minto is an honourable man and his policies are probably closer to my own beliefs, but his problem is convincing enough people to vote for him. Then there is Christine Fletcher, who would possibly appeal to those on the centre right. Of course we have Len's main rival at the last election; the one who sounds like the name of a 'horse;' because he too has been badly tainted by this whole affair.
Yes, a new election will cost us, but we need to clear the decks and start again. There is no point in 'hanging in there,' Len; it is time to resubmit yourself to the peoples' choice. This is not going to go away. Then, we should all pull our heads in and let be what will be. Just talk to your family first this time. They may have had enough!

www.authorneilcoleman.com