The local body council election papers are now out and if you do not vote, and vote correctly, then Hamilton is facing a long winter of economic discontent. Debt is projected in the long-term plan to reach 2.5 billion in a decade1. Rates, under the same plan, are set to double1. Then there is ‘Water Done Well’. For water the projected average charge per connection will be over $4000 within ten years2.
This election is crucial. Change is needed and you need to vote wisely. Please ensure when making your decision that you consider people who have real skills and can instigate real change. NZ is facing a crisis of managerialism3. As noted in the article by Roger Partridge4 we need people with actual specialist technical expertise, not just relationship skills. People who know what it takes to read a balance sheet, dig a drain, or build a road. As councillors they will need this expertise if they are to ensure the hard decisions are made to get spending under control. While we may need more pedestrian crossing when the safety of our tamariki requires it, do we need them to cost $750,000?5 Such largess drives the rates increases that force elderly residents from their homes6&7.
Please take your time and go through the candidate’s information from the council website at https://hamilton.govt.nz/elections2025/candidates. There is one group of candidates that have set up a combined website. This group of candidates appear focused on fiscal responsibility and transparency, and their website contains articles discussing proposed solutions to Hamilton’s rates and debt issues.
East Ward West Ward Website
Stuart Aitken Mark Flyger https://www.hamiltonsbettercandidates.co.nz/
Andrew Bydder Graeme Mead
Horiana Henderson Mesh Macdonald
Leo Liu Michael West
John McDonald https://www.hamiltonsbettercandidates.co.nz/
Many other candidates also have further information available on their websites and social media pages, which can be found at the bottom of their candidate bio’s. Their websites are shown below (some of the candidates are also running for Mayor),
East Ward Website (SM links not shown – see Bio pages + other contact details)
Rachel Afeaki: https://rachelafeakiforhamiltoneast.co.nz/
Anna Casey-Cox www.voteannacaseycox.com
Preet Dhaliwal https://www.actlocal.nz/preetdhaliwal
Rudi du Plooy https://www.waronwaste.co.nz/
Jack Gielen https://reigningingrace.org/
Marie Hamilton no website on bio page (Note FB and Instagram avail.)
Louise Harvey no website or SM on bio page
Suhair Hassan no website or SM on bio page
Peter Humphreys no website or SM on bio page
Tim Hunt no website on bio page (Note FB and LinkedIn avail.)
Jason Jonassen no website on bio page (SM avail.)
Rachel Karalus www.rachelkaralus.co.nz
Tim Macindoe no website or SM on bio page
Danielle Marks marks4kirikiriroa.com
Alexander Mcconnochie no website or SM on bio page
Sue Moroney no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
Jenny Nand no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
Jono Ng www.jonong.co.nz/candidate
Turi Robinson kiwiunion.org.nz
Jamie Strange no website or SM on bio page
Jackie Talbot https://jackietalbotforhamiltoncitycouncil.co.nz/
Maxine van Oosten no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
West Ward Website (SM links not shown – see Bio pages + other contact details)
Paul Alforque no website or SM on bio page
Matthew Beveridge vote.matthewbeveridge.co.nz
Nidhita Gosai https://www.actlocal.nz/nidhitagosai
Louise Hutt vote.louisehutt.com
Allan Mckie no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
Angela O’Leary no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
Emma Pike no website or SM on bio page
Sarah Thomson sarahformayor.com
Dave Taylor no website on bio page (Note Instagram avail.)
Geoff Taylor no website or SM on bio page
Roderick Young https://roderickjy.github.io/roderick-campaign-site/
Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward Website (SM links not shown – see Bio pages + other contact details)
Jarrad Gallagher no website or SM on bio page
Maria Huata www.mariamooteiwi.com
Lawrence Jensen no website or SM on bio page
Robbie Neha no website on bio page (Note FB avail.)
Andrew Pope no website or SM on bio page
Jahvaya Wheki https://linktr.ee/kiaorajahvaya
In addition, please note there is a group of regional councillors who have formed a rates control team and you can view their website at https://www.ratescontrolteam.co.nz/ Likewise for the other regional council candidates please carefully view their details at https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/council/elections/stand-for-council/candidates/
Please take the time to read through all of the information that you can find on ALL of the candidates. It is worth taking the time, for while we complain about butter costing $10 a pound, a doubling of your rates bill represents a whole lot of butter. Ensure you view all material with a critical eye. Decide what is important to you and choose the candidate that you feel will provide the best outcomes for our city. Most importantly please vote. It is important that all Hamiltonian’s are involved in this election. We all have to pay for the city, either directly through our skyrocketing rates and water bills, or indirectly through the rents (and water) that rise to cover those rates. Let’s look forward to a new Spring for our beautiful city.
1https://hamilton.govt.nz/strategies-plans-and-projects/long-term-plan/
2Page 343 Agenda of Ordinary Council Meeting - Thursday, 26 June 2025
3https://www.betterhamilton.co.nz/post/why-more-management-delivers-less
4Roger Partridge, https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2025/08/15/the-death-of-public-sector-expertise-how-the-rise-of-the-generic-official-hollowed-out-the-state/
6https://www.betterhamilton.co.nz/post/skyrocketing-rates-contributing-to-home-loss
7https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/545431/cost-of-living-older-kiwis-cutting-back-on-food-to-save-money
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