I think we are in a pretty good place with the number of candidates standing for council this year. I’m particularly impressed that most councillors aren’t running vanity campaigns for the mayoralty (it does seem that Pepperell is deluded enough to think that he can win, but that’s another story).
This is even more evident when you look at other places… for example there are 22 people standing for Mayor of Auckland. (And given they use FPP there will be a lot of wasted votes!)
However, there comes a point where you have to start looking at the quality of the candidates. What got me thinking, was this article in the Dom Post. Two of the six candidates for the Wellington Mayoralty are currently before the courts…
Bernard O’Shaughnessy made an appearence in Wellington District Court yesterday charged with assaulting Mohammed Wasim Talim on September 4. Remanded on bail to reappear on September 31, he would not say whether he would defend the charge.
And then long time vagabond (anyone got a better way of describing him?) Al Mansall is of course no stranger to the court system…
Al Mansell will appear in court on Tuesday on a charge of behaving in an offensive manner, relating to an obscene sign referring to a “drug war”, on the Lambton Quay side of the Supreme Court in Wellington in June. He intends to defend the charge.
Perhaps the fact that these people are standing is actually a good thing, they certainly add colour to an otherwise dull race.
The biggest question on my mind is if this will lead to O’Shaughnessy being expelled from the Newtown Cat’s Protection League.
WCC Watch 
Quite ironic that the anti-drunkenness candidate got into a fight. Perhaps he should have a special debate with Adam ‘the publican’s choice’ Cunningham.