Hamilton Mayoral hopeful Angela O'Leary's biggest sales pitch is that she's one of the people - it's not enough, writes Max Christoffersen.

OPINION: There are few things more insulting than the platitudes used by elected councillors when it comes time to hit the hustings.

And so it has begun already. It's local body election year and those seeking another turn at the ratepayer trough are lining up for the October bun fight.

Hamilton has its first candidate out the gate with Councillor Angela O'Leary confirming a run for mayor.

It's been obvious to anyone watching, O'Leary has been posturing and posing as the mayor in waiting since the middle of last year. The social media grandstanding and platitudes in the chamber have been thick in the air while O'Leary enjoys posing as the people's champion.

There can be few more disturbing sights than sitting councillors positioning themselves as the solution for the very problems they were in part responsible for creating.

And so it is with O'Leary. No-one should be under any illusion Hamilton's fiscal and social problems of today have been crafted by the councils of the past and O'Leary was present for all of it. She was first elected in 2007.

From the V8s and Claudelands events centre debacles through to the cooking the books during the Hardaker regime to the decline of city assets (Founders Theatre) to the staggering rate rise demanded by the current administration to the unwarranted pay rise for CEO Richard Briggs to the folly of the riverside theatre, O'Leary was there for all of it.

Former mayor David Braithwaite went so far as to name O'Leary as one of the councillors who should be investigated by the Auditor General's Office for her role in not pursuing former Hamilton mayor and CE Michael Redman to recover losses from the V8s.

The V8s is council's smoking gun of institutional and council bungling and O'Leary was there for crucial decisions, the Waikato Times reporting, "after the 2007 elections the (V8) subcommittee came under the chairmanship of Maria Westphal and with Kay Gregory, Angela O'Leary and Mr Redman, continued to make crucial contract spending decisions".

This is not a track record of sound financial governance that lends confidence to any aspirations O'Leary may have for city mayor.

It appears voters may have short memories when it comes to seeking accountability from the architects of the issues that have been central to so much council distrust and dysfunction over the past decade.

If elected it will be O'Leary's fifth term and she represents all that is wrong with local body politics. She is a career politician with little to show for more than a decade in Hamilton City Council chambers.

She now believes she has the answers to the city's woes she has been powerless to implement over the past decade. It is why there should be a limit to three terms for elected representatives. In time councillors become jaded and subject to group think and round-the-table point scoring.

In announcing her candidacy for the mayoral chains, she said she would '..unleash the potential of our future Hamilton...so come and join me on the journey to the mayoralty..."

Ohhh puullleeessee…..Is this the best Hamilton can do? Every other candidate will make exactly the same pitch.

O'Leary's job application is more electoral platitudes with no vision, no solid agenda – nothing, but vote for me because I'm one of you.

It's not good enough. After a decade in chambers I want substance on the bones of O'Leary's electoral grandstanding – and accountability.

Look Angela, there is one thing and one thing only that matters – getting rates under the rate of inflation while getting rid of growing council corporate bloat.

The best example of this is an area I know best, communications.

There are now 32 staff members employed in the Council's strategy and communications unit. What the hell do they all do? Based on comments this week they have only just discovered communications is a two way process based on dialogue and not institutional directives going one way.

Hamilton City Council strategy and communication general manager Sean Hickey demonstrates communications 101 with this bit of late to the plate PR genius: "We are trying to shift the communication focus to being one of communication and engagement ... So rather than us telling people what we are doing ... we are trying more and more to make that a two-way conversation."

Good god - why do we pay these people so much for their outrageous corporate communications bungling at a cost of $1.987 million a year?

Here's a tip for you Sean; no-one wants to 'engage' with council. That's comms in-house jargon that means nothing out on the street where people just want some relief from the rates burden.

Current council PR speak is about 'participation', not engagement and even that's a tall order given the confused rates rises and general culture of dysfunction that is brand Hamilton City Council.

Look Angela – your CE Richard Briggs earns more than Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, your communications and strategy team is larger than most advertising agencies and the excessive bloat continues across other areas of council with staff on six figure salaries.

Other names will soon join the list of those who want to rule this small land-locked city in the Waikato and each should put forward their voting track record and achievements for the city.

Voters should hope they see more in the weeks and months ahead than brand O'Leary's forget the past - vote for me because I'm local pitch.

Next!