Wards—‘short-list’ selection should be less confusing

Press, 22 September 1977, Page 4

Wards —‘short-list’ selection should be less confusing

Christchurch City Council voters next month will select a “short list” of councillors for only the second time since 1916.

hward. and not to the entire i'city, he said. -■ Some councillors, said Cr lißurn, had already made it •iclear that thev would push ;l development in their own . wards, even at the expense of worth-while projects in other i.parts of the city. ■ i Pressure groups were not necessarily bad, said Cr Bum, ;jbut there was a danger of "parish pump” politics at ; their worst. Councillors were ! almost being encouraged to isolate — and concentrate — : their influence. Supporters of the ward svs- ( tem see the opposite. They : think the .concentration of attention on district problems will be a good thing, bringing ■ people closer to local government. Thev think the system : wiH grow stronger as it grows older. Last year, a University of i Canterburv graduate student in political science predicted that the Citizens’ Association would win again in 1977 under a Labour-originated ward set-up. But he was using <.wo measures, history and percentage vote swings, to make the prediction. It is not certain whether those measures really fit local-body elections. In submission” to the wards committee, Mr A. MacKenzie said the ward system had given fairer representation to both major parties. In 1968, there were no wards. Although Labour candidates

The city’s ward system will j prevent the entire citv from ; selecting a full council — voters who live in one ward* will not be able to vote fori candidates for another — but' it will make things less confusing. Mayoral candidates are up| for selection by the wholes city, and two of the four, candidates are also standing, for the council in a ward. There is still no consensus on the value of a five-ward system. Those most in favour of wards say thev will bring councillors closer to the people, since residents are able to identify readily those persons who represent them. On that basis, wards prob* ably have not come fully into their own. Some councillors, such as Sir Robert Macfarlane. Mr Peter Dunbar, Miss Vicki Buck, and Mr Newton Dodge are identities in their neighbourhoods, and residents naturally approach them. Others tnav be less accessible, if only because thev are more identified with the whole city. When a special committee of three was studying ward boundaries last vear. Cr J. F. Burn — a Citizens’ Association member who is probably the most independent coun- ' cfllor — gave a warning that 1 a ward system could be car- ‘ ried too far. It could lead to I councillors feeling that their 1 only allegiance was to a -

won 44 per cent of the vote, they had only three seats. Citizens, with 56 per cent of the vote, had 16 seats.

But under the new system in 1974, Labour won 46 per cent of the vote and eight seats, while Citizens’ won 54 per cent and 11 seats. There will be some changes this year caused by retirement and switches, as well as new candidates. Cr Mary Batchelor, the highest 1974 vote-getter in the Pegasus Ward, has left the council after two terms to devote all her time to her duties as member of Parliament for Avon. In the South Ward, the Deputy Mayor (Cr P. J. R. Skellerup) is a Citizens’ candidate, replacing Cr B. J. Britten. In 1974, Cr Britten polled a close second in the normally strong Labour ward. Cr Skellerup received

the most votes in the East Ward, and had received high votes over the entire city before the ward system was introduced.

In the East Ward, Sir Terence McCombs returns to city politics as a Labour candidate. He was a member of the independent committee that studied ward boundaries.

Before the election, “The Press” will run a series of articles about ward issues — as the candidates see them — and also personal statements from the candidates.