Wednesday 20th July 2016
Eight mayoral candidates great for democracy, says Chamber

Wellington Chamber of Commerce says having eight candidates standing for the city’s mayoralty is great for democracy and should make for a fascinating election campaign.

“With two more mayoral candidates declaring their bid in the past few days, things just got a lot more interesting,” says Chief Executive John Milford. “This is great for the city – it’s game on. Voters will have real choice, which is what it’s all about.”

He announced that the Chamber of Commerce and Deloitte would be hosting a live mayoral debate, for which all candidates had accepted. It was being supported by Victoria University, The Dominion Post and Kensington Swan. It will be on 8 September at Rutherford House and will be adjudicated by Linda Clark.

“At this rate, and with still 3 ½ weeks to go till nominations close, we may have trouble finding a venue with a stage that’s big enough!

“This debate will be a valuable part of the campaign because it will give the public and the Chamber a great close-up opportunity to test the candidates on their vision for the city and how they would drive the council to achieve that.

“For the Chamber’s part, we intend testing them against our Election Manifesto, which we will be making public in the next couple of weeks. This will lay down what business expects for the city from the council and we will be watching closely how the candidates respond to it. Later, those responses will act as a check-list against the performance of the successful candidate.

“We have been talking to our members about the content of the Manifesto, and so far 95 per cent of them are telling us that its focus on strong leadership, financial stewardship, economic growth, infrastructure development, city resilience is exactly the right one.”

Registration is required to attend the debate. Go the Chamber of Commerce website for further details. Seating is limited.

The Wellington Chamber of Commerce & Deloitte 2016 Mayoral Debate:
Principal Partner: Deloitte
With Thanks: Victoria University, The Dominion Post, Kensington Swan
Adjudicator: Linda Clark
Date: 8 September
Venue: Rutherford House, Victoria University, Bunny St.
Time: 5.45pm – Registration Open and networking begins. 7pm – debate begins with adjudicator Linda Clark. 8.30pm (approx.) – Closing Comments

Mayoral candidates so far: Jo Coughlan, Andy Foster, Keith Johnson, Nick Leggett, Justin Lester, Helene Ritchie, Celia Wade-Brown, and Nicola Young.

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