Up Front: An Open Letter to the Labour Party from a People of Christchurch
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I repeat, it's an unsourced rumour.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
I repeat, it's an unsourced rumour.
And whoever it's from, how do they manage to get away with making up that kind of shit? It seems that a lie travels halfway round the world before the truth can punch in its username & password.
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The thing is, with Lianne stepping aside, and Brendon not wanting to stand again in Christchurch Central, what alternative does Labour really have. Short-term, to get Clayton Cosgrove off the party list and into a seat, would then free up a list seat for Kelvin Davis up in the Far North. If ever there was a blunder, it was leaving an articulate man like him so far down the list. But such a move would be unpopular with the majority of the voters. Given the closeness to the Mayoral elections, it could also backfire on Lianne.
What this highlights, when Helen was leader, no real thought or planning went into a succession. Sadly, the longer David Shearer leads, the more inept he appears to be. -
Sacha, in reply to
free up a list seat for Kelvin Davis
Does he even want back in?
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James Caygill puts his hand up. Hm.
Not quite in the electorate (at the moment) and his dad has left a mixed legacy. He says he’s ‘reasonably left-wing’.
I have no idea what that means. Pre 1991 benefit levels, and a more progressive tax system? Or some nice waffling about equality?
“Reasonably”.
Why am I yearning for a candidate who’s desperately, irrationally, tribally, determinedly, economically, ridiculously (but coherently), remarkably, irreducibly leftwing? :) -
Emma Hart, in reply to
Not quite in the electorate (at the moment)
Mairehau should be acceptable, I think. It’s not like it’s Merivale or Cashmere.
Also. Matthew Hooten has backed Cosgrove. So… that happened.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
and his dad has left a mixed legacy
I'm sure there's a fair few PASers who would like to be judged on their own terms, and not bear some weird blood taint from their parents. (And considering my father didn't talk to me for six months after I 'came out' as a card-carrying National Party member, the converse may well be true.)
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Sacha, in reply to
Yeah, when your dad was prominent in the same field that's always going to be part of the equation. Ask Chris Cairns.
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Yep, let James be judged by what James does, says, and promises.
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Good to see the awareness of the upcoming redistribution of the boundaries. To note that Electoral Commission expects work to begin in about three months - first of all the Maori Electoral Option has to be completed, and that closes on 24 July.
Today I've asked Stats NZ to release to the web the meshblock population data, at the same time as they provide it to the Representation Commission. That will mean anyone who wants to make submissions or countersubmissions can be better informed.
In a couple of weeks I might ask Russell to host a Speakers post to highlight processes around redrawing the boundaries. It's been 7 years since it last happened.
@philiplyth
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Aaron Gilmore (yes, that guy) shares his thoughts about byelection prospects. (And remains unrepentant.)
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Rob Stowell, in reply to
bear some weird blood taint from their parents.
We all carry some of that, don't we? :)
James will make his own way, I'm sure. At the moment, he's more-or-less an unknown quantity. I don't think it's completely irrelevant his dad was my MP- and became NZ's finance minister- through some rather interesting years. -
Hebe, in reply to
Also. Matthew Hooten has backed Cosgrove. So… that happened
#2 Weird: WhaleOil backed Lianne Dalziel for mayor on his blog.
Do y'all reckon a Chch mayoral/local body election thread would be in order so those who want to avoid it can? I can see this bubling unitl at least November.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
We all carry some of that, don’t we? :)
The Kennedy and Ford families, to name just a couple of examples. Both of the original patriarchs were openly NSDAP sympathisers, with successive generations being more liberal.
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Lilith __, in reply to
James will make his own way, I’m sure.
Not all political families go the same way. Kennedy and Doug Graham are brothers. :-)
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Stephen Judd, in reply to
Why not talk to James and report back? He's not hard to track down.
And then it's pretty cheap to join the Labour party, you could talk to the LEC as a member and share your opinion on the contenders.
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Rob Stowell, in reply to
Why not talk to James and report back? He’s not hard to track down.
And then it’s pretty cheap to join the Labour party
Heh- I'm hoping he'll do some talking. But some questions on his website, for example, worth a shot. Will try!
I was a terrible member of the LP a few years back. Partly because I didn't seem to have any free time of an evening, and partly because the boundaries were re-drawn, and suddenly we were in Selwyn, which is blue as an April sky, in a political sky that seemed awful blue, and it felt a little hopeless.
Back in the day, I'd have been shot for defeatism :) -
James Caygill, in reply to
Hey Rob (and anyone else interested),
I'm always happy to chat - flick me an email from my site and we can get a time that suits.
James
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Since you're here :)
What policies would you champion to reduce poverty in Aotearoa? Pretty broad question, so pick two :) -
I think it is very unfair to judge people by the politics of their fathers. Mine was on the Mazengarb Royal Commission into Juvenile Delinquency and in his spare time when I was young helped run the local version of the Citizens and Ratepayers Assn.He mellowed in his old age fortunately. And my mother's family covered the political spectrum. James' father stopped being a cabinet minister when James was still at primary school. All I know about the similarities are that they are both very smiley.
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Stephen Judd, in reply to
suddenly we were in Selwyn, which is blue as an April sky, in a political sky that seemed awful blue, and it felt a little hopeless.
Wearing my Chair of the Ilam LEC hat, don't feel hopeless. For a non-fringe party in an MMP environment, party votes are the only ones that count in winning an election. Electorate boundaries are irrelevant. If you live in a seat that is likely to be won by the other side, there is still great value in turning out voters who will give you the party vote, because every one of those party votes contributes to winning. Parties that can turn out the vote *nationally* will do relatively better than those that only organise in safe or winnable seats. A few thousand votes in a few unwinnable electorates can mean a whole extra list MP. The Greens get this, and Labour needs to too.
So yeah, don't feel that your efforts are wasted because there are few supporters where you are. Just focus your effort on getting those supporters to vote.
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While I understand the criticisms of the Fourth Labour Government, I worked closely with David Caygill while I was in student politics and he was Deputy Leader of Labour in Opposition. He was a thoroughly decent, considered and constructive politician, very effective at actually getting things done. I think there’s few of his calibre in the current Parliament.
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Sacha, in reply to
Mine was on the Mazengarb Royal Commission into Juvenile Delinquency
Fantastic. Did Russell know this?
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
Yes I think I've mentioned it before.
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