Wade-Brown doubles-down by using office as campaign HQ

· by · in Elections, Mayor. ·

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown appears to be taking her use of the baubles of the mayoral office up a notch. On top of resisting the call to switch from the @WellingtonMayor twitter account for the campaign to her own @celiawbnz account, she has decided to make Town Hall her own campaign HQ.

In a move reminiscent of the Labour Party’s use of Parliamentary Services cash for its campaigns, Wade-Brown is listing 101 Wakefield St (Town Hall) as the authorisation and physical contact address for her campaign.

It is one thing to base your campaign around your record as the incumbent, and another entirely to blatantly utilise the actual Office of the Mayor for your campaign.

It reeks of a sense of entitlement that you would normally associate with Labour or National, rather than the Greens. It may well be totally legal to do this, but its the grubby, arrogant style of politics that is so common amongst those who have sat at the Council table for too long.

I hope the media actually start asking some questions.

I Can Haz Grand Designs

7 responses to “Wade-Brown doubles-down by using office as campaign HQ”

  2. John Morrison has done the same on his first mayoral advertisement. The Local Electoral Act 2001 states that the promoter statement must state “the address of his or her place of residence or business.” This isn’t really using her office as campaign headquarters, it is more likely that candidates do not wish to publicly advertise their home address.

    • Morrison doing it too probably just reinforces that the two people who’ve been there for decades are arrogantly trying to use the baubles of office. It also doesn’t answer why Wade-Brown is breaking with precedent and not switching away from the @WelingtonMayor twitter. And Wade-Brown is in the good old phone book, so publishing addresses can’t be too much of an issue.

      • It really isn’t. This is one of the worst thought out and backed posts that WCC Watch has done. Seriously? This practice is totally legal, and frankly there really isn’t an issue here. They are not literally using their offices as campaign HQ, there are no banners, flyers and signs at their offices, it is a technical matter instituted by the Local Electoral act 2001. This is no different from a candidate using their place of employment as the address on their promoter statement, whether that is a supermarket, office, or council buildings. Look at Labour, National and Green advertisements. What do you see at the end there? “Authorised by xxx, Parliament Buildings.” Seriously.

  3. Ah nope – during the election campaign it is the Party general manager/general secretary who normally authorizes it out of the HQ and not the Parliamentary leaders office. And that is the point. The campaign has begun and they should act appropriately. The Mayor’s office should not form any part of the campaign.

    Oh and in terms of the thinking behind this – the Office of the Auditor General released guidance on exactly this need for transparency. http://www.oag.govt.nz/2010/2008-09/part12.htm

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