A Mayor you can vote for

Crikey, it finally looks like there’s an Auckland mayoral candidate I can vote for. And you can too. Because he’s the only mayoral candidate promising to cut rates.

Affordable Auckland candidate for Waitemata & Gulf Stephen Berry is now also a candidate for Mayor of Auckland. “I’ve been waiting for a candidate with real policies that will promote affordable living to step up. As that is yet to happen I am putting myself forward as the ratepayer’s champion for the Auckland mayoralty.”

“Len Brown’s average rates increase of 2.9% is an attempt to disguise the real problems that will burden ratepayers of the future. For starters, 33% of ratepayers today are actually facing increases in excess of 5%. While rates make up 30% of projected council income for the next year, 27% of income will come from borrowing. Len Brown is mortgaging your children’s tomorrow buying the votes of today.”

Stephen Berry and the Affordable Auckland ticket have a plan for housing affordability that stands apart from those of other candidates. “Every other mayoral candidate thinks the council should do more and be increasingly hands on to direct Auckland’s urban development, as if the council has not yet done enough. I say the reason the house prices are so inflated is because the council has done too much already. It is time for a different approach.

“Spending, borrowing and rates need to be reined in as a matter of urgency. The rates increases of today are a heavy burden on existing home owners on limited incomes and they shut the gate on anyone else wanting to realise the kiwi dream of home ownership. Borrowing of over $1 billion a year guarantees crippling rates levels in the future. Without a change in direction, Auckland will become the Detroit of the South Pacific.”

“The debate over the Unitary Plan has become one of two sides of central planners arguing over who can plan the best. The compliance costs involved in dealing with active central planning adds the greatest expense to development and alterations. Zoning needs to be as flexible as possible and common law approaches should prevail. If what you do on your property doesn’t affect my property, then it is none of my business.”

“Finally, the urban limit needs to be abolished immediately to open up the supply of available land for residential development. Year 11 economics textbooks very clearly demonstrate that when supply is artificially constricted, price goes up. The fact our current Mayor can’t grasp that fact is mind boggling to say the least.”

In this year’s mayoral contest, voters have two very clear options. You can vote for one of the five variations promising to continue doing what got us into this mess or you can vote for Affordable Auckland’s Stephen Berry.

Don’t just vote. Why not sign up to stand as an Affordable Cities candidate yourself?