January 28, 2019
Tamihere mayoral stand a test of character
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere says the country’s largest city is ready for a Māori mayor.
The former Labour cabinet minister and Waipareira chief executive says he’s standing to challenge a culture of entitlement and arrogance that has developed in the super city, and to seize control back from the bureaucrats.
He says a multicultural city of more than 1.3 million people, half of whom were not born here, is ready for a new kind of leadership.
"Sure I’m strongly aligned with matters Māori. Of course my surname and my colour determines that. But I’m not to be judged by the colour of my skin. What I should be judged on as Martin Luther King said is the conduct of my character and the way in which that character might play out," Mr Tamihere says.
He hopes his campaign will awaken Māori voters to the needs to get out and exercise their votes, and also to stand for elected office.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com