Yesterday, as some of you know, Sir Michael Fowler endorsed me, saying that I am the ‘intelligent’ mayoral candidate and he likes the programme I have outlined for our city. It goes beyond what is on my campaign site, of course—the programme includes plans to bring Waterfront Ltd. back under council control, increased transparency through […]
Category: Wellington
Wellington, the mayoralty and local politics.
Explaining to Lucire readers about my political ads
[Cross-posted at Lucire] New Zealand readers will be seeing a few advertisements around this site relating to the local body election in Wellington. And perhaps, thanks to programming not always being precise, a few more readers outside New Zealand will notice them, too, although we have targeted them for this country alone. I think it’s […]
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Creative or reactive? Your choice
The Fairfax Press has been very interesting in its coverage since the beginning of my mayoral campaign. A Miramar Wharf hotel–training centre development that I pushed for missed any quotes from myself, while today’s announcement of wifi for the waterfront by the incumbent and the Fairfax Press itself again does the same. But, you […]
What’s possible with open government
When I go on about free wifi, it’s not just some vague election promise. Someone mentioned that I should have put the reason behind the message on my first billboard, but the reasons are too plentiful. It’s not just about giving businesses and tourists the access they expect in a modern society. It’s also […]
Making free wifi pay—at no cost to ratepayers
With the first billboard going up in town, I’ve been asked about whether my free wifi programme will cost ratepayers. In a word, no. The wifi programme will be supported by selling the space on the home page. Upkeep of such a service, and I am looking at several alternatives, is in the […]
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Something to remember when voting in Wellington
Brenda Wallace is one of the smartest people I know. And when she Tweets, one should pay attention. The below is particularly instructive as we head into election season. You may also like As the 2010s dawn, there’s a vacuum on the internet How well we engaged Winding down after a busy, post-campaign 24 hours […]
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Connecting with you on Thursday
On Thursday, 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. at Meow, Edward Street, come along and have a chat—we’re doing a “meet the candidate” session. It’s not as formal as the fun evening we had at Soi—it’s a chance to come and pick my brain, and let me pick yours as we head into the real election season. […]
Getting Wellington out of debt—by growing the right businesses
In plain English, when a city is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt—depending on who you believe, the figure is between $200 million and $400 million—how do you get out of the hole? 1. You can sell the family jewels, and there’s water left. We tried this in the 1980s, and now so […]
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What we need from leaders in the new decade: creativity leads the list
My friend and colleague at the Medinge Group, Ava Hakim, passed on a few papers from her day job at IBM. The first is the latest edition of a biennial global CEO survey, while the second asks the next generation of leaders—Generation Y. The aim: to find out what these groups think about the challenges […]
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It’s time to consider open source
Certain media are reporting the city’s [debt] in the $200 million–$300 million mark but our outside-council research reveals this is a very conservative estimate. It’s likely to be more. Regardless of whether it’s $200 million or half an (American) billion (scary just saying it), any deficit that’s nine digits long can’t be good for […]