John MacDonald: What's so bad about ex-MPs being on local councils?

I’m starting to wonder who isn’t running for mayor in Wellington.  

Former Labour leader Andrew Little is the latest one joining the race to oust current mayor Tory Whanau.  

And, just in case you think so, I’m not endorsing Andrew Little in any way, shape, or form. But I do think having former MPs on local councils is a very good thing.   

Because whether we like it or not, local councils cannot operate in isolation and knowing how things in Wellington work is invaluable.   

Andrew Little isn’t the first ex-MP wanting to get into local government. Former National MP Nick Smith is the mayor of Nelson. Phil Goff was mayor of Auckland. In Christchurch, former Labour politician Lianne Dalziel was elected mayor three times. Maurice Williamson —who was a National MP and minister— is on Auckland Council these days. John Banks. The list goes on.  

And they don’t admit it at the time, but when these ex-MPs stand for their local councils, it’s not just their political experience they're banking on. They also know full well that they’re making the most of apathetic voters who look for a name they know and end up voting for them.   

When it comes to name recognition, I reckon an ex-MP has way more chance of being successful in the job than some of the other people you see milking their name recognition to get elected to their local council.  

People in my game do it. In fact, it seems to me that if media people don’t go on to be marriage and funeral celebrants, they go on to be a local councillor.  

Not that you will ever catch me doing that. Last thing I’d want to do.     

Sportspeople milk their name recognition too.  

I’m not in Tauranga and don’t know all the ins-and-outs, but I think it's pretty safe to say that the reason Mahe Drysdale is the mayor of Tauranga is because of his brilliant rowing career.  

He’s got none of this so-called “business experience” that some people think is essential for someone to be good at running a town or a city. 

He’s got no prior political experience. He’s just a name. Voters obviously thought he was a good Kiwi bloke, he’s done well in his sport, so they voted for him.  

Not that, from what I’ve seen, it’s been all plain sailing for him so far. I’ve seen a few stories with him getting heat for stuff – and that is where people’s lack of political experience shows.  

And why I think it’s a very good thing to have people former MPs on our local councils.   

They’re not perfect —Lianne Dalziel was far from perfect— but they know what they’re getting themselves into.   

They generally don’t set the world on fire, but I don’t care about that. Because, whether we like it or not, local and central government are intertwined. Local government is way more dependent on central government than it would like to admit.  

Especially, when they’re in the schtuck. When they need to get Wellington on their side.  

Which is why having people as mayors and councillors who know exactly how to get the government on side —because they've been there and done that— that’s why it is so beneficial.  

And that’s why I’ll take an ex-politician over an ex-media personality or an ex-sporting hero any day, when it comes to who I want to see on my local council.  

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