democracy seems not a reality in lower hutt cc

Byron from Naenae

please bear with me as I will need to make a couple of posts as the text is apparently too long for Neighbourly..
part 1...
I signed a petition against the three waters proposals and received a response that looks to clarify the issue of true democratic representation in LHCC is not alive and certainly not well - regardless of whom you desire in the big house - the local governance should be for the local communities and what they want and the mayors role should be to support that and not their own central gvt political agendas...
""Byron, thanks for your email to my councillor email address. Please see my article below.
A Tale of Two Cities*
A great mystery of 2022 is how it came to be that the Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt Mayors formed polar opposite views on Three Waters.
The two cities share the same water collection and treatment system, the same water management (Wellington Water), occupy in the same valley and share the same cost structures.
Three public opinion polls in the two cities have revealed strong resident opposition to the Labour Government’s centralisation of water management, including 50% iwi control through co-governance.
So how is it that, despite public opposition in both cities, Mayor Wayne Guppy of Upper Hutt is opposed but Mayor Campbell Barry is not?
The answer is pretty straightforward. In 2019 Cr Campbell Barry campaigned for the Hutt City mayoralty under a Labour ticket. What the public was never told is that the Labour Party exacts a high price from candidates who use their trademark.
It will surprise most people to learn that the Labour Party requires that candidates using the Labour logo sign a pledge to support and implement Labour policy irrespective of the views of local residents. Further, all Labour candidates in a local body election pledge to block vote on issues of Labour policy.
next part 2.....