Phil Mauger To Run For Mayor In 2022

Widely applauded for bringing a fresh style and a no-nonsense, can-do attitude to the Council table, Phil Mauger today announced he is running for the Christchurch mayoralty in 2022 as an independent candidate.

Mauger will bring a sensible and practical approach to the Christchurch City Council, and a reputation for getting stuff done.

“I’ve heard and shared the frustrations of Christchurch people. The last two years have shown me that it is possible to make change – and change for the better. I’m keen to step up and make sure that we get the right stuff done and that all of us in Christchurch benefit,” says Phil Mauger.

Mauger is a successful businessman with strong community ties and a history of supporting community organisations. Before winning his Burwood seat nearly two years ago, he led Maugers Contracting, which his family has been operating in Christchurch since 1970 and now employs more than 40 staff.

In the past two years Mauger has fought to get the basics right – such as fixing roads, maintaining parks and looking after the vulnerable in our community – while pushing the Council to be more careful with its spending and reduce its rate rises. And where he can, he has got on with the job himself.

Last year Mauger came under the spotlight for digging a trench in Pages Road to solve a flooding problem that was a safety concern and had gone unfixed for 10 years.

“After seeing a young mum trying to push her pram through the water across Pages Road, I had to do something – it was dangerous,” Mauger said. He paid his own Council fine for doing the trench work without a resource consent.

Many people have called for Mauger to step up and run for Mayor. He will run as an independent and has shown in the last two years he can work with all sides of the political spectrum.

“Councillors should make decisions because it is good for our city, not be told what to do by a political party. As an independent mayor I will look at any idea that comes up and make up my own mind if it’s best for Christchurch and, where possible, listen to what our community wants. I have supported ideas from both sides of the political spectrum.”

Mauger is not a member of any political party.

Mauger says the city has progressed since the earthquakes and there is a lot of positivity out there. However, too many things are still taking too long.

“The future opportunities for Christchurch are exciting. We have seen new schools, hospitals, offices, factories, and homes built. But we have all seen how long it has taken to get these completed.”

“We need to improve the Council response times for services to residents. I know a lot of people are particularly frustrated about how long it takes to get a consent from the Council. I will continue to work with Council staff to find ways to make this system move faster.”

“It’s disappointing that overall satisfaction with the Council’s services has dropped to only 49% of people satisfied in 2020/21. Ratepayers are our customers and when over half are not happy with what we are delivering, then we need to change the way we operate.”

“I was disappointed, but not surprised, that only 36% had confidence that the Council makes decisions in the best interests of the city. It matches what I am hearing each week. We must lift our game and make sure our Council is connected to our city.”

“The Council needs to adopt a “can do” attitude focused on finding solutions to hold ups, and get the ball rolling. That attitude comes from practical leadership – which I can deliver.”

“If I’m elected Mayor, I will continue to spend time every fortnight, going around the traps to meet people and community groups across the city to listen to concerns.”

“We are on our way to becoming a world-class city, but we must get the basics right too. I’ll keep pushing to make sure we provide the right budget to fix our roads, footpaths, sewers and watermains – they are our core business, they need to be repaired, and be maintained.”

“The upcoming changes in Three Waters are a concern to our City, the Council should be able to decide if we can opt in or out of these reforms. To take away local democracy sets a dangerous precedent.”

“Another key focus for me is spending and managing our money carefully by making long term investments, doing them once and doing them right. Our ratepayers pay half a billion dollars annually in rates, they deserve the confidence this will not be frittered away or comprised by short term thinking.”

“I voted in favour of retaining the larger capacity for the stadium and proposed the council approach other parties, such as neighbouring councils, to secure additional capital. The fact that councillors were given the wrong costs is not good – we must make sure this does not happen again.”

“We also need to future-proof our city and district by recognising the impact of climate change and the changing regulations we are going to have to meet as Council. I want to make sure we are working with the leading climate change experts who can advise our staff and the Council. I support the big investment that will be spent over 10 years for climate change and environmental initiatives. And I want to see this huge investment spent wisely with measurable outcomes.”

“A really simple idea is to make using our buses cheap and simple. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on bus lanes and Environment Canterbury has spent millions on buses which run – empty or full - so let’s encourage more people to use the bus and make it a flat $2.00 a ride. Simple and more affordable. My leadership would see us work more collaboratively with Environment Canterbury to investigate these types of ideas.”

“Christchurch has the opportunities for a great future. We must be open to innovative thinking and trying new things. We have some challenges ahead, such as the three-water reform, and the review of local government. We need common sense leadership to ensure we make the right decisions for Christchurch. I can bring that to the table.”

“By making the changes we need to get the basics right, keep our rates affordable, deliver better services faster, finish our roads and footpaths, and spend our money carefully, together we will make Christchurch an even better place to live,” says Phil Mauger.

For further information | Erin Jamieson |Convergence Communications | 021 743 237 | erin@conv.co.nz