Tauranga's democratic comeback

After four years of commissioners, Tauranga is set to elect a mayor and councillors. Can they avoid a repeat of the previous mess? Tauranga City will shed its commissioners and elect a new council in just under two weeks, but not everyone is welcoming this return to democracy Tauranga City will shed its commissioners and elect a new council in just under two weeks, but not everyone is welcoming this return to democracy There's some fear in the air in Tauranga as the country's fifth-largest city gets ready to vote in the council election on July 20.Tauranga City councillors were replaced with commissioners in 2020 after a tumultuous year. Now it's almost time for a mayor and councillors to return. "There is a lot of apprehension out there from all circles that I've encountered, there's a bit of unease as to who's going to be elected," Bay of Plenty Times senior journalist Kiri Gillespie tells The Detail."They're really concerned that history will repeat itself and we'll return to the same dysfunction as we had before the commissioners - we've got six of the former council running again."A resident survey from July last year shows an increased satisfaction with the council over the commissioners' term, though another, from March of this year, shows the opposite. "To be completely fair, most of the people I've encountered through all sorts of means, whether I'm going out on a job and I'm interviewing somebody my own social circles or things like that - the general consensus is that they're pleased with what the commissioners have done," Gillespie says.Many people have thrown their hats in the ring for a place at the council table - 85 candidates are vying for 10 seats, including 15 going for the mayoralty. These include Olympic gold-medal winning rower Mahé Drysdale and singer-songwriter Ria Hall. There are a few familiar faces with their hands up too, including a former mayor and former councillors. "Ultimately it's up to the voters, they all know who was there before and who the fresh faces are," Gillespie says."But it's that fine balance of wanting to elect a council with experience and know-how but also fresh blood where you won't necessarily get the dysfunction that we had before, so it's a real unknown."The commissioners, led by former National MP Anne Tolley, wrote to Local Government minister Simeon Brown late last year, suggesting a new hybrid council model would be best for the city.This would consist of six elected councillors and four commissioners, with a commissioner as chair. But the idea was rejected…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details