Roger Stratford’s Invited Opinion Piece
[All contactable candidates for the 2025 Hamilton City Council Election were invited to supply CityWatch NZ with an opinion piece.]
By Roger Stratford ( Hamilton mayoral candidate 2025)
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate is retiring after two terms. Whilst her first term in Office was okay, the second has been marred by considerable local discontent, not least amongst fiscal conservative Councillors.
As a candidate in October, I offer a bold direction to bring the sides together, both on and off council, and to the wider public. Unlike the incumbent (Mayor Paula), I do not have a partner to shop for groceries.
Conventional wisdom has it that the two main mayoral contenders are Councillors Tim Macindoe and Sarah Thomson. Neither candidate has what it takes to be mayor of the world-class city that is Hamilton. Many commentators believe that Macindoe has the mayoralty in the bag. Thomson has leadership qualities as a young lawyer turned local authority politician, following in the footsteps of former mayors.
Hamilton has had lawyers, businesspeople and social scientists all in the top job. All have failed to get mounting debt levels under control and to return the city to surplus. What Hamilton needs now in a leader is a natural scientist – STEM.
Qualified in Chemistry, Statistics and Political Science, I offer a way forward. A twilight baby boomer, I am part of a wave of 60+ years aged Centre-Left politicians keen to tackle the problems of the present and future based on our experiences.
Raised in Fairfield, I take a restraining perspective on 20 Minute City, traffic calming and transport infrastructure. We need to continue to borrow from LGFA at low interest for some projects. But these are not the real issues, which lie instead with representation.
I am a member of Amnesty International, Waikato Alumni Association, The Hamilton Residents & Ratepayers Association Incorporated and Co-operative New Zealand Party.
As candidates for Office, our election campaigns are micromanaged by councils around the country. We’re not permitted to criticize our opponents, present our opinions freely or articulate our concerns about social groups without risk of causing offence. Official questions put to us are phrased to lead us into accepting the status quo, for instance on climate change. As a result, we can anticipate a record low voter turnout, perhaps as low as 10-15 percent, based on current levels of public voter apathy.
I am the one mayoral candidate prepared to stand up to Rt Hon Christopher Luxon and Central Government’s attacks on local autonomy. That is why I am promoting a city-wide binding referendum on Hamilton membership of LGNZ. I am also promoting the setting up of a By-election Endowment Fund, so that council is up-to-date on what residents want for their city.
Authorised by R. Stratford roger.stratford@outlook.com
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