This is great Nick. There have been some amazing electorate MPs over the years, some who have been really impactful locally even for people who would never vote for their party.
Having said that I found it was difficult to make a clear choice. In my electorate only two of the six candidates are seeking the electorate vote and (I think perhaps understandably) much of the discussion in meetings is about wider issues on people's minds (tax, inflation, climate). It was almost as if we needed a separate debate just for the electorate seat. Incumbents do have an advantage as they can (usually credibly) talk about the things they've already done and so electorate seats often change when there's a vacancy.
If you are looking for nominations I would suggest Rongotai (may change the way one smaller party things about "two-tick" campaigns) and Ilam (TOPs only real chance) as good candidates. I went to a meeting in Ilam on Sunday. I was very surprised to hear Raf Manji say he only wanted the electorate vote. WTF? What about the rest of their list? But he's a smart guy and I assume he knows what he is doing.
I'm looking forward to seeing Michael Woodhouse actually have to tout for votes. It is expected that Rachel Brooking will beat him soundly. It is a little hillarious that he spat the dummy when Luxon put him down low on the party list. He is contesting what used to be Dunein North, is now just Dunedin. Ingrid Leary- the current candidate for the Taieri electorate in which I vote ( formerly Sth Dunedin) has had to work hard to engage the voting population since the change in electoral boundaries. The former Sth Dunedin electorate now extends to Balclutha, and brings in rural voters. She takes a small team regularly to Balclutha to be available to the community.
HILLARIOUS NICK!I wonder why the Greens are not standing anybody in Hamilton. Per haps there was nobody suitable- not somethig the Nats care about. Their quality control for candidates is decidedly slipshod. My sister is disappointed that the Greens are not standing a candidate in the Waimakariri region this election. She has decided to vote Green- a first for her. I pointed out that she can still give them her party vote-and maybe vote Labour for the electorate. We weren't sure who the Labour candidate is- doesn't seem to have much of a profile.
Thanks Nick that was informative and entertaining. Look forward to the next electorate break down of candidates. Gives some background colour to the election
I am SO disillusioned with the major parties, having alway been a Labour supporter. National wants to sell us out to the Chinese and Labour to BlackRock. I will give my vote to NZLoyal , don’t agree with some of their policies but they aren’t going to sell kiwis out to overseas entities. David Lange made a stand against the US nuclear ships and our country suffered trade embargo from the US. Yes we suffered but the little antipodean country stood up against the dictatorial might if a super power and we were respected around the world. We are a proud nation and I don’t want the bullying tactics of another country to destroy us
I cant believe that those Parties are actually real, let alone the Hamilton candidates described ... I'm sure they're characters in a Monty Python skit 😆
Electorate Watch: Hamilton East.
Wonderful , so much for the Nats selection process.
This is great Nick. There have been some amazing electorate MPs over the years, some who have been really impactful locally even for people who would never vote for their party.
Having said that I found it was difficult to make a clear choice. In my electorate only two of the six candidates are seeking the electorate vote and (I think perhaps understandably) much of the discussion in meetings is about wider issues on people's minds (tax, inflation, climate). It was almost as if we needed a separate debate just for the electorate seat. Incumbents do have an advantage as they can (usually credibly) talk about the things they've already done and so electorate seats often change when there's a vacancy.
If you are looking for nominations I would suggest Rongotai (may change the way one smaller party things about "two-tick" campaigns) and Ilam (TOPs only real chance) as good candidates. I went to a meeting in Ilam on Sunday. I was very surprised to hear Raf Manji say he only wanted the electorate vote. WTF? What about the rest of their list? But he's a smart guy and I assume he knows what he is doing.
Thanks. A worthwhile read
I'm looking forward to seeing Michael Woodhouse actually have to tout for votes. It is expected that Rachel Brooking will beat him soundly. It is a little hillarious that he spat the dummy when Luxon put him down low on the party list. He is contesting what used to be Dunein North, is now just Dunedin. Ingrid Leary- the current candidate for the Taieri electorate in which I vote ( formerly Sth Dunedin) has had to work hard to engage the voting population since the change in electoral boundaries. The former Sth Dunedin electorate now extends to Balclutha, and brings in rural voters. She takes a small team regularly to Balclutha to be available to the community.
HILLARIOUS NICK!I wonder why the Greens are not standing anybody in Hamilton. Per haps there was nobody suitable- not somethig the Nats care about. Their quality control for candidates is decidedly slipshod. My sister is disappointed that the Greens are not standing a candidate in the Waimakariri region this election. She has decided to vote Green- a first for her. I pointed out that she can still give them her party vote-and maybe vote Labour for the electorate. We weren't sure who the Labour candidate is- doesn't seem to have much of a profile.
Thanks Nick that was informative and entertaining. Look forward to the next electorate break down of candidates. Gives some background colour to the election
I am SO disillusioned with the major parties, having alway been a Labour supporter. National wants to sell us out to the Chinese and Labour to BlackRock. I will give my vote to NZLoyal , don’t agree with some of their policies but they aren’t going to sell kiwis out to overseas entities. David Lange made a stand against the US nuclear ships and our country suffered trade embargo from the US. Yes we suffered but the little antipodean country stood up against the dictatorial might if a super power and we were respected around the world. We are a proud nation and I don’t want the bullying tactics of another country to destroy us
I cant believe that those Parties are actually real, let alone the Hamilton candidates described ... I'm sure they're characters in a Monty Python skit 😆