Local government
While leading rivals Viv Beck and Wayne Brown have more business experience, Collins insists companies can still count on him
Plans for a forum for business leaders and a dedicated business unit on the council are reasons why mayoral candidate Efeso Collins insists the business community can trust him.
With just over a month to go before the municipal elections, Auckland voters are beginning to focus on who they think is best to represent them in the coming council term.
The Curia-Ratepayers’ Alliance’s latest poll for the mayoral race shows the left-wing Collins is in first place with the support of 28 percent of determined voters.
However, the 15 percent of voters who planned to go for the controversial Leo Molloy will have to go elsewhere now that he’s dropped out.
It means it’s been a month of some uncertainty for the candidates, with Viv Beck and Wayne Brown certainly counting on getting some Molloy votes – especially from a corporate sector still licking its wounds from the difficulties of the pandemic years and easily influenced by promises of cuts in bureaucracy or tariffs.
There haven’t been any right-wing mayors since the supercity’s first mayoral election in 2010, meaning those in business looking for change will likely have their eyes on candidates like Beck, Brown or the next Craig Lord and Ted Johnston.
How much of the lead Collins has managed to maintain in the next poll result could very well be determined by Auckland’s yen for the cornerstones of his campaign – free public transport and pledges to cut carbon emissions.
Whether these promises will entice corporate members remains to be seen, and if past voter turnout patterns hold true, those votes are where the election may well be won.
The turnout in the elections is inversely proportional to the level of deprivation in the neighborhoodmeaning policies and appearances that yield to the people of Devonport or St Heliers will deliver the best political milestones.
Collins said it has been a balancing act to reach these kinds of neighborhoods while maintaining his ties to the South and West and convincing those communities to participate in local democracy.
“There will always be a reason for a strategic approach, but there will always be a part of me that wants to increase the participation of minority groups, ethnic groups and young people,” he said. “That’s the big challenge.”
He said his campaign was data-driven, analyzing what would be the best use of his time without turning his back on his own community. Of course, there is an opportunity cost in every decision, and with multiple events on some evenings drawing candidates’ attention, each candidate is forced to make some cuts.
“I wish I were with three people so we could all share where I need to be,” Collins said, referring to what has been a busy campaign, especially for candidates like himself, Beck and Brown – all of them at multiple events a week. .
But beyond just showing up, Collins has to gain the trust of the corporate world before he can count on those votes.
Of the three frontrunners, he is the one with the least direct business experience. Aside from his two terms as mayor of Far North, Brown has a history of real estate development and leadership at companies such as Transpower and Vector Ltd.
Meanwhile, for the past seven years, Beck has been fresh out of her role as head of the inner-city business association Heart of the City, and has a history of communications roles in the business world.
Collins’ bona fides are more from the education and government sectors, having been a lecturer at Laidlaw College, a community outreach adviser at the University of Auckland and a youth development manager at the Department of Social Development before being elected to the Auckland Council in 2013. .
But despite the difference in experience, Collins says the business can count on him.
“We know Auckland represents 38 percent of GDP,” he said. “As a municipality, we have to work hard to support and facilitate the conditions so that businesses can thrive.”
He said the council needs a dedicated business unit to look at things like speeding up consent processes and cutting red tape, and he wants to improve communication between the council and the business community by establishing a panel of business leaders that the mayor’s office will directly advise on enabling launch. up companies.
“I think what we haven’t done well in this council term is that we have business leaders talk to us to give us direct feedback on what will help them thrive,” he said. “If small businesses thrive, Auckland will grow with it.”
But how does he make small businesses thrive? Mayors like Wayne Brown have spoken of financial coups de grace they’ve made in the past, such as reversing a deficit at the Auckland District Health Board without ending a single service. It’s the kind of topic of conversation that’s more likely to catch the air of business than free bus rides.
But Collins says his fare-free public transit policy will have a major impact on business and could help reverse the absenteeism problems that have plagued workplaces this winter.
“That has a positive impact on business, because then you know as an employer whether you have an employee who is struggling financially, they don’t have to fill the car, they just get on the bus and are able to get to work. to go,” he said, adding that employers could relax more with a “reliable system”.
He claimed the ability to get around easily by public transport would have a positive impact on Auckland’s city centers as people stop for shops or catering on their way to a bus stop or train station in their local suburb.
When it comes to comparing resumes, Collins said his experience should make him more attractive to business, rather than less.
“I think it’s important that the mayor understands the numbers,” he said. “I’ve been part of six annual plans, two long-term plans. I understand how the processes work.”
This year’s election follows in the footsteps of two left-wing career politicians in the form of Len Brown and Phil Goff. However loud the call for a recipe change, it can win or lose for Collins.
But at the same time, he can state that he is not a Brown or Goff 2.0 at all. He would become Auckland’s first Samoan mayor, representing large parts of the city to the south and west that often feel underrepresented in council chambers.
He said his connection to the community is another reason why business should trust him.
“We want someone to lead the community, and when we connect communities and businesses, we really become the whole picture of Auckland and not just one section,” he said. “Businesses can count on me to represent their interests to the extent we want them to thrive in Auckland, because that’s the backbone of our economy here in Auckland.”