Simpson for Napier

Politics at local government level of democracy is probably the demise of good community democracy. Wanna be politicians will, I suggest, always determine the safest decision for them which is not consistent necessarily with the best outcomes for the wider community. There is no clearer demonstration of this than the current situation in America where the lobby groups and cheque books win the debate. Look closely at who you elect, do they have the communities best interests at heart or just their own? I'll say it as I see it, your view may differ and that is ok, so lets be respectful throughout this process. So lets be nice about it.  Regards and best wishes  Nigel Simpson , Candidate for Mayor Napier City Council Elections 2022  #IfYouCare #NapierIfYouCare #TheThingsYouDontKnowYouDontKnow #Transparancy This blog is approved by Nigel Simpson, Napier New Zealand - website -   simpson-for-napier.co     

  Apathy empowers some, especially those who seek power or authority and enables them to recruit their friends and allies to fill the void.   It’s actually quite easy, if there aren’t enough nominations just phone a friend!!   The great part is the voting public generally don’t do their research and unless they’re prepared to troll through facebook or become embroiled in the community gossip they’ll never know the relationships that control discussion and decision making. Shock horror democracy is vulnerable to wan-a-be demigods and public apathy encourages this.         The complainers complain but what is really needed is a contest for every seat.   Believe it or not with several seats on offer in each ward area, if there are lots of nominations, discerning voters have the ability to elect a good mixed council.  Some with community heart, some with analytical, some with business skills and interests. Democracy is a great thing, when a community understand how to use it!    

  Decision making and getting things done should be easy when your organisation employs experts in their fields and your resources include some of the most experienced technical experts (consultants) in the country, right? But when your elected lay people (i.e. Mayor and Council) do not accept professional advice, guidance or professional opinion it becomes problematic and disheartening for staff. Absence of good clear S.M.A.R.T governance led strategy creates paralysis by analysis.  The absence of good leadership enables abrogation of decision making and the people our community has elected to make decisions decide to push it back to you 'say it Napier'. The amount of consultation this last council has done has cost a fortune in staff time and recourses, slowing down implementation and achievements.  Imagine how much more productive staff could be if once an activity is in the long term plan or annual plan they could get on with delivering that service or activity without

  Group think is empowered by other people’s apathy and strengthened by its own momentum.  The more the ‘in crowd’ convince themselves that they are right, the less they want to hear from others like employed managers or consultants who are experts in their field and thus power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  When I say others in this context, I include members of committees or working parties that are not in the ‘in crowd’ or as easily influenced or corruptible as others. You never really learn much from hearing yourself talk. George Clooney How many of you have been involved with a sports club that had historically functioned well, had great social membership, wins at competition, is achieving its goals and objectives, has a well-articulated strategy for new facilities and is going from strength to strength?   But then a small ‘cohesive’ click forms in the committee and others say they can’t be bothered, and they opt off the committee and sooner or later the

  Long term plans and a number of other documents that need to be joined up (like the District Plan, rates and other policies) set out the elected council's strategy. and guide the CEO ten years into the future, informing them of the anticipated shape and style of growth and levels of service and major expenditure.  This allows the CEO to design the Council organisation and recruit staff with the competencies and capabilities to meet those future needs.  Napier needs a mayor who will implement proper governance led strategy development and stop the flip-flops and short term meddling at operational level. If the Council chop and change short term expectations, in the long term plan it makes it impossible for the CEO to perform and frustrates management as they have to push and pull resources to suddenly meet the need for research, consultants, reporting, and juggling budgets to pay for activities that are out of sequence.   This causes unintended consequences; the things staff were

  July 27, 2022 - Media release        Napier City Council resignations a sign of trouble A run of resignations by senior managers from Napier City Council confirms the council has a serious culture and leadership issue, says councillor Nigel Simpson. In the last six months, three out of six Executive Leadership Team members have resigned and a third moved sideways, later resigning. That leaves just two experienced executive managers from a team of six. Councillor Simpson is standing for the Napier mayoralty in the upcoming Council elections, citing a lack of leadership and effective decision-making. “It is appalling that the mayor is continually agreeing to tens of millions of dollars of unbudgeted items and activities – 14 added to the to-do list just 12 months out from the adoption of the Long Term Plan - while flip-flopping on projects that were supposed to proceed. It makes the job of the chief executive and senior managers almost impossible. “If new projects have to