Mayor scrambles to patch relations with government

We are hearing that Mayor, Celia Wade-Brown, has realised that her poor relationship with central government will likely be her downfall when the votes are counted this year. We’ve been told that she is scrambling to try and get an audience with just about any member of the Cabinet. The only problem being that no one on the hill is picking up the phone calls from Wellington’s green Mayor.

It seems extraordinary that the Mayor of our capital city would seem to have such a dysfunctional relationship with Ministers. These revelations come only a week after Mayoral and Lambton ward candidate, Nicola Young, literally brought the PM to town.

Wade-Brown has taken a noticeably more aggressive approach to the campaign this time, lashing out at John Morrison in particular on several occasions, demonstrating her desperation. But this week she suffered a massive set back when Transport Minister and Government lynchpin, Steven Joyce, quashed any hope of government funding for an airport extension. The pressure coming from Morrison and now Young as well has left Wade-Brown scrambling to get her campaign back on track.

Wade-Brown has apparently realised she needs to show she can work with government and is desperately trying to set up any meeting possible. But she has trodden on toes and spent time protesting against the government, which has seen her becoming an unpopular figure amongst the National Party decision makers.  She was famously torn apart by the sharp tongue of Chris Finlayson but it seems she has done little in the way of repair since.

The bigger issue though, is that while the poor relationship is a liability for Wade-Brown’s chances, Wellington as a city can no longer afford to carry the liability of a bad relationship with government.