BayBuzz has received responses from both candidates for CHB mayor – incumbent Alex Walker and current Regional Councillor Will Foley – to these questions:
- CHB Council has just reviewed its spending plans for improving the district’s water infrastructure, deferring some projects considerably. Do you support this approach even if it delays important improvements?
- Name 2-3 specific CHBDC projects, policies or spends over the past three years with which you personally disagree.
- Do you support construction of the ‘new’ Ruataniwha Dam? Do you believe Council should invest ratepayer funds in it?
- CHB seems on its way to becoming Hawke’s Bay’s solar capital. Do you support that development?
- Do you believe councils’ rates should be ‘capped’ by legislation?
- Do you personally support retaining Māori seats at your council table?
- Does Hawke’s Bay need five councils, or do you support amalgamation, in any form?
- Would you support Councils appointing an independent “Hawke’s Bay Auditor General” to monitor councils’ spending and programme performance?
The candidates’ full responses are reported in this PDF, grouped by question so you can readily compare the candidates.
Each candidate also has a ‘page’ in the CHB section of Election Central on the BayBuzz website, so you can find each person’s complete response there as well.
To briefly preview the responses …
On CHB’s looming water infrastructure requirements, the two candidates present a simple choice: Walker offers ‘stay the course’ stability; Foley says fresh thinking is needed on how to meet costly water infrastructure needs.
With respect to rates, Walker is absolutely opposed to a central government-imposed rates cap, saying that would be an undemocratic ‘overreach’ unfit for addressing CHB’s cost drivers – decades of council underinvestment, extraordinary external cost pressure, and cyclone recovery.
Foley says the math of continued rate increases above the rate of inflation is not sustainable. He agrees that a simple rates cap could risk underfunding essential services, but he would be comfortable with a “rate-capping framework” that provided flexibility for above-cap funding of community consulted significant capital projects.
Both are supportive of CHB’s solar power future, assuming relevant safeguards.
On the looming Ruataniwha Dam 2, Walker is a solid supporter, even signaling the possibility that Council might be involved in funding. Foley says responsible support or opposition must await completion of up-to-date, comprehensive business case.
On Māori wards, Walker firmly supports; Foley avoids stating a personal view.
Neither candidate is a fan of any amalgamation involving CHB. Foley would support a Hastings/Napier ‘metropolitan’ merger. Walker suggests regional business units in certain areas.
But don’t rely on this summary, the full responses reveal far more nuance and detail.
