Local Body Elections and the dodgy candidates

So in a couple of months we're all going to have the opportunity of voting in the local body elections, for our city, district and regional councils. And in some areas, there are elections for local and community boards too.

Now most of the time, these things are fairly boring affairs, but this year it's a bit different.

The freedom groups I talked about earlier are trying to use them to gain a foothold in local government, but trying to do it without anybody noticing.

In a recent mailout to their subscribers, Voices for Freedom put out the call for people to put their names forward for the various local government positions.

In their email, they said that the aim was to make New Zealand “ungovernable”, and that they want to “sway the results” and “throw their weight around”. But, their instructions also stated that people should keep any affiliation with Voices for Freedom a secret. They seemingly know what a poison chalice that association represents.

The irony of this is that these freedom groups claim that the government is controlled by shadowy organisations, hidden from public scrutiny. By promoting their own candidates, and advising against revealing their agendas, they're doing exactly the same thing.

Now, people are entitled to stand for political positions, but I think it's right that people know who they're voting for. I want to know if the person I'm voting for is going to advocate against science-based positions on matters such as water fluoridation and vaccination.

As is the case with many of these topics, we're seeing tactics from alt-right groups overseas being imported and replicated here. A common tactic in the US is to get representation on school boards where they can influence policies such as mask wearing, or even the content of the curriculum.

Even more worrying is the potential to claim that elections are rigged, casting doubt on the results.

But, the great thing that this situation has spawned is that there are a lot of people around the country doing citizen research, and looking into the backgrounds of people who are now appearing on candidate lists. The aim is to be able to have some background information on candidates, so people can know what they stand for, before putting them in a position of influence and power.

In the age of social media, it's usually pretty easy to do a background check on people. And, from what I've heard, there are some pretty damning posts on some peoples' profiles that show the sorts of beliefs they have. And then there's the information that leaks out of the “likes” and posts they share. It's pretty hard, these days, to keep a lid on this if you have any sort of profile online.

But then there are some who are “out and proud” about their nonsensical beliefs. Perhaps the prime example I've come across is Pamela Taylor, who's running as a mayoralty candidate in Dunedin. She posts under her unmarried name Pamela Pirie on Facebook. She's called for an end to vaccine mandates, but perhaps the most worrisome or amusing stuff, depending on your perspective, are warnings about radiation from 5G cell towers, and about needing more CO2 as it “makes plants grow faster and with less stress”.

They say that a week is a long time in politics. Well, the elections are still a couple of months away, and while there's a lot of media space being devoted to the topic at the moment, the worry is whether it will still be at the top of the public's mind when it comes time to vote.

Sadly, from numerous studies, it's been shown that a lot of voting comes down to name recognition, which is why candidates and parties spend so much money on advertising and billboards. It would be unfortunate if these dodgy candidates got votes because of negative publicity about them being remembered when it comes time to vote.

There is some hope though. It's possible we'll see a strategy appear which will promote people who've specifically disavowed association with these groups. That's the way to keep the whole thing focused on the positives, to drown out the negatives.